The Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court has fined the operator of a mobile canteen unit on a Kankesanthurai–Colombo train Rs. 500,000 for selling bottled drinking water above the government-approved maximum retail price.
Investigation officers of the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) attached to the Anuradhapura District filed the case after a special raid in the Anuradhapura area on July 9, 2026. Officers who boarded the train found that 1,000ml bottles of locally produced drinking water carrying a printed maximum retail price of Rs. 120 were being sold to passengers for Rs. 150.
Legal action was instituted under Order No. 96 issued through the Consumer Affairs Authority Act, which prohibits the sale of goods above the stipulated maximum retail price. The court imposed the fine after considering the evidence presented.
Daily Mirror identified the operator as Jayabima Catering, while Hiru News described the defendant as a Colombo Fort-based company. Ada Derana did not name the establishment.
Not a first offence
The CAA said legal action had previously been taken against the same establishment for violations of consumer law, and that it will continue to monitor the operator’s activities and act strictly against any further breaches.
The Authority added that it has formally notified Sri Lanka Railways about the sale of goods above prescribed prices in railway mobile canteen units — an indication that regulators are treating on-board catering as a recurring problem area rather than an isolated case.
The fine lands amid a broader CAA enforcement push. The Authority recently directed intensified checks on private hospitals overcharging for blood tests and has run repeated MRP raids on retailers, including a Colombo food court fined over bottled water pricing.
Sources: Ada Derana; Daily Mirror; Hiru News.
