R.M.M.P. Rajapakse vs. The Public Service Commission and Others – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 220/2020-2021

In the case between R.M.M.P. Rajapakse (Petitioner) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) and others (Respondents), the Court addressed whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had jurisdiction to entertain an appeal concerning the Petitioner’s non-promotion, considering that the PSC’s principal decision was issued before the establishment of the AAT. The Court held that the 2016 letter from the PSC did not constitute a fresh decision but merely reiterated an earlier determination from 1995. The principle reaffirmed was that administrative finality precludes repetitive contestation of matters previously settled before the inception of new appellate tribunals, and the temporal jurisdiction of such tribunals cannot be retrospectively extended. This decision was guided by the statu