National Procurement Commission probing e-passport tender issue, court told

The Attorney General (AG) has informed the Court of Appeal that the National Procurement Commission of Sri Lanka is conducting an investigation into the method in which the previous government has granted the tender related to purchasing 5 million electronic passports for the Department of Immigration and Emigration.

This was communicated to the court by Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General, when the petition filed by Epic Lanka Private Limited challenging the previous government’s decision to purchase 750,000 normal passports and 5 million e-passports from two foreign firms, was taken up on Tuesday (03).

Furthermore, the Additional Solicitor General mentioned that the National Procurement Commission has requested a period of one week to submit observations related to the investigation. Therefore, he requested the court for a date to inform the progress of the relevant investigation.

Appearing for few defendants companies, President’s Counsel K. Kanageeswaran requested the judge bench for a date to consider his client’s request for the lifting of the injunction issued preventing the purchase of passports.

Accordingly, the Court of Appeal ordered the case to be recalled on January 23, 2025.