Gunatileka v. Weerasena – sllr 2000 volume 2 page 001

The case between the petitioner, a customs officer, and the respondents, including the Director General of Customs and Kithsiri Fernando, addressed the issue of the reasonableness of recognizing Fernando as an initiating officer under Circular “P1” in connection with the detection of smuggled gold. It was held that the Director General’s determination adding Fernando as an initiating officer was unreasonable and subject to judicial review, reaffirming the principle that administrative discretion must be exercised reasonably, for proper purposes, and not as an unfettered power. The decision relied on modern administrative law principles and judicial precedents limiting the scope of absolute discretion, emphasizing that awards and the distribution of rewards in the context of public administ