The Supreme Court today ordered that the fundamental rights petitions challenging the previous government’s decision to outsource the issuance of electronic visas to private companies be taken up again on February 9, 2026.
When the petitions were called, counsel for both the petitioners and the respondents presented their submissions, Ada Derana reported.
The court subsequently fixed February 9, 2026, as the next date for hearing.
The petitions were filed by Parliamentarian Rauf Hakeem, former MPs M. A. Sumanthiran and Patali Champika Ranawaka, along with several others, seeking to nullify the former administration’s move to hand over e-visa issuance to private companies.
In August 2024, the Supreme Court issued an interim order suspending the contract awarded to the private consortium IVS-GBS and VFS Global to operate the visa issuance process.
