Sirimal and Others v. Board of Directors of the Co-Operative Wholesale Establishment and Others – sllr 2003 volume 2 page 023

In the case between Sirimal and others (employees of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment) and the Board of Directors of the Co-operative Wholesale Establishment and others, the court addressed whether the abrupt denial of service extensions beyond the age of 55, contrary to established past practice and without procedural fairness, violated Article 12(1) of the Constitution. It was held that terminating the practice of granting extensions up to age 60 amounted to an arbitrary administrative change and breached the legitimate expectation of the petitioners. The principle reaffirmed was that a public body must afford procedural fairness, including notice and the opportunity to be heard, before altering established terms of employment affecting fundamental rights. This determination reli