Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya vs Sri Lanka Transport Board – SC APPEAL NO. 133/2016-2021

In the case between Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya (on behalf of P. Titus Jayantha) and the Sri Lanka Transport Board, the court addressed whether the Appellant’s prolonged absence constituted a voluntary vacation of post and abandonment of service, and whether claims of threats and physical injury provided adequate justification for the absence. The Labour Tribunal initially found no intent to abandon service, but the High Court later overturned this, concluding the absence amounted to a voluntary vacation of post. The Supreme Court, on appeal, examined the evidentiary requirements and legal standards for establishing abandonment and held that the Respondent proved its case. The appeal was dismissed, reaffirming that both the factual absence and the intention to abandon must be demonstrated, bu