D.C.P. Kaluarachchi et al. v. Prof. Dayasiri Fernando et al. – SC FR 642/2012-2019

Brief
In the matter between Chief Excise Inspectors (and other Excise Department officers) as Petitioners and the Public Service Commission along with certain Excise Department officials as Respondents, the court addressed whether the recruitment process for the position of Superintendent of Excise, and the related procedures for selection—particularly the invocation of a limited competitive examination and the manner in which vacancies were filled—constituted a violation of the Petitioners’ fundamental rights. Central to the controversy was the issue of whether the application challenging the recruitment process was lodged within the one-month period stipulated by Article 126(2) of the Constitution. It was determined that, although Petitioners had received the relevant call letters and we