Samarakoon Banda v. Board of Directors, Co-Operative Wholesale Establishment – sllr 1991 volume 1 page 386

In the case between Samarakoon Banda (Plaintiff) and the Board of Directors, Co-operative Wholesale Establishment (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether the dismissal of the appellant for previously condoned political activities constituted wrongful termination, especially when the condonation had occurred while the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was in power. The court held that termination under such circumstances amounted to unfair dismissal, and compensation equivalent to five years’ salary, with legal interest, was warranted. It was reaffirmed that past employer condonation of certain conduct precludes retrospective characterization of that behavior as misconduct after a change in management. This principle relied on established labour law precedents regarding condonati