Demuni Sriyani De Soyza and others vs Dharmasena Dissanayake and others – SC F.R. 206/2008-2016

Brief
In the case between several petitioners (notably 25 public servants who served in the General Clerical Service and subsequently the Public Management Assistants’ Service, seeking promotion to Class II Grade II of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service) and the Chairman and Members of the Public Service Commission, the Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs, and the Attorney-General’s Department, the court addressed whether the omission of marks for supernumerary service—as regulated by Combined Services Circular “P9”—constituted a violation of fundamental rights under Article 12(1) of the Constitution. It was determined that the relevant administrative circular excluded such service from seniority calculations for promotion and, upon reviewing the timeline