Samarapperuma Mudiyanselage Pushpasiri Gunaratna And 14 others vs. Kodagoda Vithanage Nelson Wijetilake, Chief Inspector of Police, Kelaniya Police Division and 552 others – 0177/2020-2022

In Samarapperuma Mudiyanselage Pushpasiri Gunaratna (Police Sergeant) and others v. Kodagoda Vithanage Nelson Wijetilake (Chief Inspector of Police, Kelaniya Police Division) and others, the court addressed the issues of whether the Petitioners were entitled to seek a writ of Mandamus compelling the Inspector General of Police to consider them for promotion under criteria identical to those applied to other officers, and whether such a writ application was maintainable given Article 61A of the Constitution. It was determined that the Petitioners’ application was not barred by Article 61A, as the challenge was directed at the application of promotion criteria, not at a decision made under the constitutional authority. Objections concerning the form, content, and delays in the amended petiti