Dinga Thanthirige Jayalath Perere vs Vice Admiral W.K.J. Karannagoda – SC APPEAL 11/2017-2023

In Dinga Thanthirige Jayalath Perera (Petitioner-Appellant) v. Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy and others (Respondent-Respondents), the Supreme Court addressed whether the appellant’s dismissal by a Court Martial of the Sri Lanka Navy was lawful and whether procedural fairness standards, specifically the duty to provide reasons for verdicts and the impact of alternative remedies, were met. The appellant, a former Captain, challenged the conviction and penalties imposed after a military Court Martial found him guilty of offenses related to unauthorized absence. The principal legal issues concerned whether recourse to the President under section 122 of the Navy Act constituted an alternative remedy ousting writ jurisdiction; whether the Court Martial was obliged to provide reasons; if the ve