Premadasa Rodrigo v. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation – sllr 1991 volume 2 page 382

In the case between Premadasa Rodrigo and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, the court addressed the issue of whether the termination of the appellant’s employment as Assistant Manager (Stores) was justified. It was held that the dismissal of the appellant was reasonable and justified due to serious misconduct, specifically repeated breaches of express orders and abuse of supervisory authority. The principle reaffirmed is that loss of confidence attributed to an employee must be established by clear evidence of misconduct, and an employer may dismiss within a “band of reasonableness” depending on the circumstances. The decision relied on precedents addressing industrial relations and the no-reasonable-employer test, emphasizing that disobedience of lawful orders and acts of personal gain by a s