Gunaratne and Others v. Sri Lanka Telecom and Others – sllr 1993 volume 1 page 109

In the case between Gunarathne and Others (clerks of Sri Lanka Telecom) and Sri Lanka Telecom and Others (including corporate and government officers), the court addressed whether revised recruitment schemes granting preferential promotion to graduate clerks, based solely on academic qualifications, were consistent with Article 12(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees equality before the law. The court ruled that such preferential treatment, absent a rational link to operational objectives and disregarding seniority or actual suitability, was unreasonable and void. The decision reaffirmed that classification in service schemes must be based on intelligible differentia with a rational nexus to the scheme’s objective. The findings relied on established equality jurisprudence and statutory