A Colombo High Court ruling has dealt a major blow to Asiri Hospital after judges rejected its appeal over allegations of charging excessive prices for medicines supplied to a hospitalized patient.
Colombo Chief High Court Judge Manjula Karunaratne has dismissed an appeal filed by Asiri Hospital challenging a previous court order linked to allegations of overpriced medicines supplied to a hospitalized patient. The appeal sought to overturn a ruling issued earlier in the Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court, where Acting Magistrate Himali Ekanayake had imposed a fine on the hospital and its directors over the disputed medical billing case.
In delivering the judgment, the High Court observed that the Acting Magistrate appeared to have misunderstood certain provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code or may have overlooked them while issuing the original order. Judge Karunaratne noted that, despite this concern, the circumstances surrounding the case meant the order had to be treated as one issued due to procedural delay and error rather than a reversible decision.
The disputed order had imposed a fine of Rs. 25,000 on January 17, 2024. Former Maligakanda Chief Magistrate Lochani Abeywickrama Weerasinghe later sought a revision of the ruling on July 11, 2025. The National Medicines Regulatory Authority was listed as the respondent in the appeal filed by Asiri Hospital and its directors.
