Jayasinghe Arachchilage Samantha Bandara Mangala Jayasinghe et al. v. Pujith Jayasundara et al. – SC FR 427/2018-2022

In the case between several Police Constables (Petitioners) and the Inspector General of Police, the Chairman, and members of the National Police Commission (Respondents), the court addressed whether the 2018 promotion scheme—allocating equal weight to seniority and merit, and awarding additional marks for service in “Special Divisions”—violated the Fundamental Rights of the petitioners by undermining the principle of seniority. The holding established that the scheme was uniformly applied and that the petition challenging it was time barred, reaffirming that lawful administrative schemes awarding merit and rewarding particular service sectors within the police do not inherently violate Article 12(1) of the Constitution where due process is observed. Reliance was placed on relevant constit