Court reserves decision on hearing PUCSL writ

The Court of Appeal has reserved the order on whether to take up for hearing the writ application filed by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking to prevent  the imposing of power cuts during the 2022 GCE Advanced Level examination to 10 February.

The order was issued by Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola.

Accordingly, the decision on whether notices will be issued pertaining to the hearing of the relevant writ application, and whether an interim order will be issued preventing the imposition of power cuts during the period in which the exam will be held, as requested in the writ, will be announced on 10 February.

Appearing on behalf of the petitioners, President’ Counsel (PC) Neil Unambuwa highlighted that the imposing of scheduled power cuts during the period in which the exam is held has a grave impact on those students facing the exam, causing them a great inconvenience, adding that the PUCSL acted cautiously, taking these factors into account.

However, Romesh de Silva PC, appearing on behalf of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), countered this claim, stating that despite the fact that PUCSL had filed a petition against the imposing of power cuts during this year’s examination, they had approved power cuts lasting six hours during last year’s national exams.

Meanwhile, Sanjeewa Jayawardena PC, appearing on behalf of the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), who was also named as a respondent, stated that CPC is unable to comply with PUCSL’s request owing to the ongoing economic crisis.

He added that CPC is currently facing a severe financial crisis after decades of providing fuel to the public at non-competitive, subsidized prices.