Agarapathana Plantations Limited vs. Seevali Jeyshta Bandara Arrawwawala – SC APPEAL 5/2014-2019

In the case between Seevali Jeyshta Bandara Arrawwawala (employee) and Agarapathana Plantations Limited and Lanka Tea and Rubber Plantations (Pvt) Ltd (employers), the court addressed the legal question of whether the employee’s termination occurred during a period of probation and, consequently, which party bore the burden of proof in establishing unjustifiable dismissal. It was determined that termination was effected while the employee remained a probationer, and, pursuant to legal principles articulated in Anderson Vs Husny [2001] 1 SLR 168, the employee is required to first establish a prima facie case of wrongful dismissal or mala fides before the obligation shifts to the employer to justify the termination. Orders of the Labour Tribunal and the High Court, which directed the employe