The Court of Appeal has directed the two largest suppliers of liquefied petroleum gas in Sri Lanka - Litro Gas Lanka Limited and Laugfs Gas PLC – to only distribute products that are in compliance with the standards approved by Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI).

This order was issued by Appeals Court Judges Ruwan Fernando and Sampath Wijeratne when the writ application filed by public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku was taken up this morning.

In his petition, Kodituwakku also sought the Appeals Court to direct the Inspector-General of Police to initiate criminal investigations against Minister of Trade Bandula Gunawardena, State Minister of Consumer Protection Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Chairman of Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) and the Director-General of Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) on the matter.

He alleged that the importation and distribution of substandard LP gas have resulted in a number of dangerous incidents across the island.

During today’s proceedings, the judge bench also ordered the two gas companies to recall the unused gas cylinders that have already been released to the market.

Further, Litro Gas Lanka and Laugfs Gas were directed to display a sticker on new batches of cylinders indicating the composition of LPG.

The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) was meanwhile ordered to take necessary steps to formulate a program for the recall and cash reimbursement of partially used cylinders in households.

The CAA informed the court that it has come to a decision to set the propane content of domestic LP gas 30 percent.

The petition was subsequently scheduled to be taken up for hearing on January 26, 2022.