Suriyapperuma Arachchilage Amarasiri Suriyapperuma v. N.C. Withanage & Others – CA WRIT/81/20-2022

In Suriyapperuma Arachchilage Amarasiri Suriyapperuma v. N.C. Withanage, Registrar General and others, the Court addressed the lawfulness of the Petitioner’s removal from the honorary post of Registrar of Births and Deaths and Marriages (Kandyan/General) under Section 6(1) of the Marriage Registration Ordinance. It was determined that the “pleasure principle” did not permit arbitrary removal without sufficient reasons or procedural fairness. The findings established that the grounds cited for removal—initially an alleged court case and later supposed political activity—were unsupported and opportunistically altered. The decision reinforced that, even when public office is held “at pleasure,” administrative discretion must be exercised consistently with principles of fairness, non-arbitrari