The case filed against an aircraft belonging to Russian “Aeroflot” airline was yesterday dismissed subject to Court fee by the Colombo Commercial High Court.
The case was taken up before Colombo High Court Judge Sumith Perera. The Commercial High Court issued this order after considering the facts presented by the Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, who appeared on behalf of the Attorney General, and the defendant Russian Airlines.
At a previous hearing, the Attorney General sought from the Court to dismiss the case and he highlighted that if further issuance of orders by the Sri Lankan courts regarding the Aeroflot aircraft would be contrary to Sri Lankan government policy and would be prejudicial to bilateral agreements reached between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of Russia. He also pointed out that the bilateral agreements reached by the both parties to allow Russian aircraft to enter and fly freely in the country have been violated.
The Commercial High Court issued an Enjoining Order on June 2 over the Aeroflot flight that arrived in Sri Lanka from Russia following a case filed by an Irish company in Ireland.
The Enjoining Order was lifted on June 6 after the Attorney General appearing before the Court on behalf of the flight controller of the Bandaranaike International Airport, made submission before Court. However, the Counsel who appeared for the defendant airline informed the Court that the flight left for Russia after the censorship was lifted but so far no Russian aircraft has been able to land in Sri Lanka. He added that no flights would be operated between the two countries as the case is still pending in court.
The Deputy Solicitor General informed the court that further orders could not be issued on a matter outside the jurisdiction of the court as the aircraft has now left the country. The Deputy Solicitor General also stated that there is no case before the Court at present. The Deputy Solicitor General pointed out that the case was based on a dispute between the two companies and that the legal status of the settlement was different. Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena stated that the enjoining order was obtained by concealing the truth and misleading the court by the petitioners. After considering the submissions made by the Deputy Solicitor General and defence, the Commercial High Court Judge stated that the case is a special case and it will be taken up again on July 5 and an order would be issued on that day.
An Enjoining Order was issued on June 2 preventing the flight from leaving the Bandaranaike International Airport, Katunayake. The Enjoining Order was issued following a compensation case filed by Celestial Aviation Trading Limited in Ireland.
The Irish company has requested the court to issue an order to the Katunayake airport authorities to detain the aircraft until the money is settled, as the Irish company owes money from the respondent Russian airline.
Saturday, July 16, 2022 – 01:08