Sri Lanka, Feb. 25 -- The Court of Appeal today dismissed two writ petitions filed by Avant-Garde Maritime Services and its employees, which sought to overturn an order issued by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence to remove three of the company's armouries.

The court issued the order following a preliminary consideration of the petitions.

By dismissing the cases without a full hearing, the court has effectively declined to interfere with the Ministry of Defence's directive regarding the weapons depots.

The legal challenge was aimed at halting the government's move to take over or relocate the three strategic armouries operated by the private security firm.

With this dismissal, the Defence Secretary's original order remains in fo...