Interim injunction against SLBFE

Sandasen Marasinghe

COLOMBO: District Court Judge Anura C. Ranasinghe on Friday issued an interim injunction against three defendants including Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) barring them from holding the Korean Language Aptitude Test (EPS-KLT) that was fixed for November 12.

The examination was to be held to select persons to apply for employment opportunities in Korea that were offered as a result of a MOU between the Labour Ministries of Sri Lanka and Korea and the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.

The Court issued the interim injunction following "Kosinka Associations" filing the petition against the SLBFE, its Chairman Jagath Wellawatta and General Manager Harischanda Batagoda stating that they prevented 800 students of the petitioner from applying for the examination.

The petitioner stated that "Kosinka" was an institution conducting Korean Language courses islandwide. Three thousand students were following the course. Responding to a newspaper advertisement nearly 800 students of the petitioner had gone early morning to the SLBFE in Battaramulla. But they had not been permitted to enter the premises by the security officers of the first respondent based on the only reason that they were students of the petitioner.

The petitioner said that its chairman had later visited the respondents to solve the matter but this ended in failure.

The petitioner stated that the respondents' action were damaging the petitioner's reputation and claimed Rs. 5 million as damages.

The respondents accepted the interim injunction at the District Court and the case was put off for November 23.