Tennakoon v. Piyadigama and Others – sllr 1996 volume 1 page 341

In TENNAKOON v. PIYADIGAMA AND OTHERS, the court addressed whether the compulsory and premature retirement of the Petitioner, a senior public officer, constituted a violation of the right to equal protection under Article 12(1) of the Constitution. The Petitioner contended that his retirement, executed without being given alternative employment or the opportunity to revert to his previous post, amounted to arbitrary, discriminatory action. The facts established that posts of a similar nature remained in other Ministries or were regularized for other officers, while no comparable options were made available to the Petitioner. The court held that the retirement was arbitrary, selective, and discriminatory, and thus null and void. The principle reaffirmed is that public authority decisions af