Subasinghe Arachchige Dasman and others vs. Dr. Y.D. Nihal Jayathilaka and others – WRIT/98/2014-2016

The case between Subasinghe Arachchige Dasman and others (including the widow of Ranpatige Piyasena) and Dr. Y.D. Nihal Jayathilaka (Secretary, Ministry of Health) and others addressed the issue of whether a writ of Mandamus could compel the implementation of government circulars for the promotion and absorption of Petitioners, originally recruited as Public Health Field Assistants on a casual basis, into the Middle Level Technical Service and Sri Lanka Technical Service, with retrospective benefits. It was held that such a writ could not be issued where legal and administrative impediments rendered compliance impossible, reaffirming the principle that Mandamus will not be granted in circumstances where the public authority cannot lawfully or practically comply with the order. This decisio