Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation vs. Manusha Nanayakkara, MP Hon. Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment et al. – CA WRIT 398/2023-2024

In the case between Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (Petitioner) and Manusha Nanayakkara, MP, Hon. Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment and others (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the arbitration award dated 21.11.2022, which directed the placement of the fourth respondent in the MM 1-1 salary category as ‘Garden Controller,’ should be quashed by way of a writ of certiorari. It was held that the petitioner could not lawfully fulfill the terms of the award due to the absence of an approved cadre vacancy and the respondent’s lack of requisite qualifications for the disputed salary scale. The ruling reaffirmed the legal principle that a party cannot be compelled to perform the impossible, referencing the maxims “lex non cogit ad impossibilia” and “ad impossibili