A petition has been submitted to the Court of Appeal requesting an order to annul an announcement issued by the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence regarding the return of firearms issued under licences for personal protection.

The petition was filed by H.D. Navinthaka de Silva, the Chairman of Avenra Hotel Group. The Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, the Director of the State Intelligence Service (SIS), and the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) have been named as respondents.

In the petition, filed through Attorney-at-Law Sanath Wijayawardena, the petitioner claims he obtained firearms under a licence from the Ministry of Defence due to serious threats against him in 2012 or 2013. He stated that during the violence on 9 May 2022, his hotels were damaged, resulting in significant financial loss.

The petitioner became aware that the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence issued an announcement on 7 October instructing the return of firearms issued under licence. He noted that he submitted an appeal against this decision, but it was unsuccessful.

Consequently, the petitioner has requested the Court of Appeal to issue a writ order against the notification issued by the Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and to grant an interim injunction to prevent the implementation of this notification until a final decision is reached after the petition is heard.