Leelaratne v. Herath – sllr 1997 volume 3 page 360

Brief
In the case between Range Bandara (petitioner, a sub-inspector of Police) and Gen. Anuruddha Ratwatte and others (representing police authorities), the court addressed whether Range Bandara’s transfer was an arbitrary exercise of power violating his rights under Article 12(1) of the Constitution. The court held that the transfer was not an ordinary administrative action but resulted from an external request and was carried out through a misuse of delegated authority, accompanied by a lack of transparency regarding its punitive motivation. The holding reaffirmed the principle that administrative discretion must not be exercised arbitrarily or capriciously but must comply with constitutional guarantees of equality and fairness. This decision relied on constitutional provisions and addr