Former Minister of Power and Energy, Kanchana Wijesekara, has refuted claims that the previous government failed to act on a court order related to dealer margins owed to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
Wijesekara clarified that court orders obtained by the Petroleum Dealers’ Association in 2022 and 2023 initially prevented the government from implementing a CPC-approved tariff formula. However, the Court of Appeal revoked this order on August 30, 2024, and the Ministry of Power and Energy received the ruling on September 2.
Following the ruling, he stated that the ministry immediately sought the Attorney General’s opinion and directed CPC to implement the order. However, dealers appealed to the Supreme Court in mid-September, with the first hearing held on September 18. He added that he had no knowledge of any Supreme Court ruling or further developments after September 23.
To support his claims, Wijesekara shared court documents and CPC board papers, reinforcing that the ministry acted appropriately within legal constraints.
