Nandisena De Zoysa vs The University Grants Commission and Others – sllr 2004 volume 3 page 086

The case between NANDISENA DE ZOYSA and THE UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION and Others addressed whether a public authority is under a legal duty to implement the recommendation of the Political Victimization Committee (PVC) for reinstatement, and whether a writ of mandamus lies to enforce such a recommendation. It was held that only a statutory, not merely moral, obligation can be enforced by mandamus, reiterating that the existence of an express legal duty is a prerequisite for compulsion. The findings established that relevant precedents and statutory analysis did not support a legal duty to implement the PVC recommendation, and thus, the application for mandamus was dismissed. This decision affirmed the principle that mandamus cannot be used to enforce non-statutory obligations and emphas