The Supreme Court has declared null and void the special promotions granted in 2010 to three Chief Inspectors of Police, ruling that Cabinet decisions elevating them to Assistant Superintendent of Police were unlawful and inconsistent with Article 12(1) of the Constitution, the Daily Mirror reported.
A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice P. Padman Surasena and Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena and Sampath Wijeratne delivered the judgment.
What the Court found
The three Cabinet decisions, dated 28 July 2010, promoted A.J.Y.B. Krishantha, P.G.S. Gunathilake and P.M. Prashantha Perera. The promotions were communicated by the Inspector General of Police through RTM 254 of 9 August 2010.
The Court held that the Cabinet memoranda supporting them identified no deficiency in the existing Scheme of Recruitment and Promotion, no shortage of officers, no administrative necessity and no wider institutional problem that would justify departing from the established promotional structure.
Instead, the memoranda were directed at the merits of three specifically identified officers, and referred to services rendered by them personally to the then Defence Minister and members of his family.
Promotions in the public service, the Court emphasised, must be governed by law, by the applicable Scheme of Recruitment and Promotion and by objective criteria aimed at securing an efficient public service — “rather than subjective preferences or personal considerations.”
The Beliatta file
The judgment sets out one officer’s record in detail. Krishantha joined the Special Task Force as a Sub Inspector in 1994 and was promoted to Inspector in 1998. He moved to normal police duties in 2003, was appointed Officer-in-Charge of the Beliatta Police Station on 25 June 2004, and made Chief Inspector on 1 January 2006.
The Cabinet memorandum supporting his promotion cited four commendations from the Inspector General for work including the recovery of arms and ammunition, the arrest of suspects in serious crimes and the recovery of stolen property. It also stated that he had performed his duties efficiently while providing security to the then Defence Minister and his family when they travelled to the Tangalle area. The minister then sought Cabinet approval for the special promotion.
The Daily Mirror does not name that minister. In July 2010 the defence portfolio was held by then President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Beliatta and Tangalle are both in the Hambantota District.
Sixteen years to judgment
The fundamental rights application was brought by 33 Chief Inspectors of Police, who argued the special promotions had been granted outside the applicable Scheme of Recruitment and Promotion and without following the prescribed procedure.
They filed it on 8 September 2010. Judgment came on 9 September 2026 — sixteen years and a day after the petition was lodged, a delay the report does not remark on. President’s Counsel Saliya Peiris, with Anjana Ratnasiri, appeared for the petitioners.
Not reported
The report does not say what happens to the three officers’ service records or subsequent ranks, whether any of them remain in the police, or whether the 33 petitioners obtain any consequential relief.
Sourcing note
Ada Derana was unreachable throughout this cycle, returning a CloudFront 403 domain-wide, and neither NewsFirst nor Hiru News had filed on the judgment at the time of writing.
