Delapola vs Chairman, Administrative Appeal Tribunal and Others – sllr 2019 volume 3 page 098

In Delapola v. Chairman, Administrative Appeal Tribunal and others, the court addressed the legality of the Secretary to the Ministry of Education’s alterations (specifically clause 8.4) to a cabinet-approved service minute in the recruitment process for the Sri Lanka Teachers Education Service. It was held that the unilateral modification of recruitment criteria by the Secretary was ultra vires and void, given the overarching authority of the service minute. The court further determined that the decisions of the Public Service Commission and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which had denied the petitioner’s appointment based on the flawed recruitment process, were legally unsustainable. Relying on constitutional and statutory provisions, including Article 61A and the Administrative Ap