The District Court of Kaduwela on Tuesday issued an enjoining order against former MP Wimal Weerawansa, restraining him from making or publishing further defamatory statements about Hayleys PLC, its subsidiaries or its board members, following an application by the conglomerate.
Hayleys is also seeking Rs. 6 billion in damages for reputational harm, with the case scheduled for further proceedings on June 23.
In its plaint, Hayleys PLC — one of Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerates, with operations spanning automobiles, power, agriculture, logistics, renewable energy and retail — argued that its reputation and goodwill, both locally and internationally, had been repeatedly tarnished by Weerawansa.
The company alleged that the former minister, through his social media accounts and appearances on Hiru TV’s Salakuna programme in February, April and May 2026, had made baseless and untruthful remarks directly or indirectly identifying Hayleys PLC, Kingsbury PLC, its automobile arm, Jetstar agency, logistics subsidiary, renewable-energy ventures and Hayleys Retail.
Hayleys said it had issued a Letter of Demand on or around May 25, 2026, but that Weerawansa continued to defame the company afterwards, including by referring to its board of directors and subsidiaries by name. The plaint warned that “irremediable harm and mischief” would result if the court did not intervene.
The District Court, satisfied with the pleadings, ordered Weerawansa to refrain from disseminating, communicating or otherwise conveying any false, misleading or defamatory statements relating to Hayleys PLC. The matter is scheduled to be called again on June 23, 2026.
Counsel Nishan Sydney Premathiratne, appearing with Shenali Dias and Ishara Jayakodiarachchi, represented Hayleys PLC, instructed by Chanuka Ekanayake.
The order is the second major civil-defamation action against Weerawansa this cycle, following the Rs. 10 billion damages notice served by ABC television over an asset broadcast. It also lands alongside Weerawansa’s ongoing CIABOC proceedings, including the Rs. 75 million asset case now before the Colombo High Court. Hayleys is the country’s largest agribusiness and one of its most diversified industrial groups; its Q1 2026 results showed group profit before tax recovering across the plantations, transportation and consumer segments.
