S.P. Sainul Abdeen v Hon. Tissa Ballale et al – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 06/2012-2012

The case between S.P. Sainul Abdeen (Petitioner) and the Governor of the North Western Province, members and officers of the Provincial Council Public Service Commission, and Elections Department officials (Respondents) addressed the issue of entitlement to judicial review and remedy following a public officer’s dismissal for alleged electoral misconduct. It was determined that the Petitioner, dismissed after a formal inquiry into alleged ballot-box stuffing as Senior Presiding Officer during the 2009 North Western Provincial Council Election, was entitled to a writ of certiorari quashing the dismissal and consequential orders, and to restoration to his substantive post. The principle reaffirmed was that public officers are entitled to procedural fairness and reasoned decision-making, and