Ceylon Electricity Board vs Hon. Athauda Seneviratne, Minister of Labour and Man Power – SC/APP/167/2014-2025

In the case between the Ceylon Electricity Board and the Minister of Labour and Manpower, the Commissioner General Labour, and several individuals associated with the Appellant Board, the court addressed the issue of whether previous ultra vires relaxations of pension rules could justify a similar departure from statutory requirements in granting pension benefits. It was held that neither the award of the arbitrator nor the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which relied on principles of fairness and legitimate expectation derived from previous unlawful practices, could stand. The principle reaffirmed is that illegal or ultra vires prior acts cannot serve as the foundation for a legitimate expectation or equal treatment claim against the clear wording of statutory regulations. The judgment e