SC rules Registrar General violated basic human rights, orders govt to pay compensation

The Supreme Court has ruled that the Registrar General violated basic human rights and ordered the government to pay a total compensation of Rs. 3.3 million to the aggrieved petitioners.

The Supreme Court has decided that the basic human rights of the assistant registrars working in the Registrar General’s Department were violated by indefinitely postponing their promotion examination.

The verdict, announced by Supreme Court Justice Janak De Silva, with the concurrence of Judges Gamini Amarasekara and Shiran Gunaratne, stated that the failure of government authorities to make timely decisions can negatively impact people’s lives and reduce the effectiveness of the public service.

The decision was given delivering the verdict over the fundamental rights petition filed by the Secretary of the All Ceylon Assistant Registrars Association of the Registrar General’s Department D. M. S. Dissanayake, along with 132 assistant registrars. 

The petitioners stated that they were appointed on July 11, 2005, as assistant registrars Grade III in the Registrar General’s Department.

A promotion examination for advancement to the second grade of clerical assistant was scheduled to be held on February 2, 2013. 

However, based on an anonymous letter, the Registrar General postponed the examination indefinitely, which the petitioners argued was a violation of their basic human rights.

The Supreme Court bench stated that the decision taken by the Registrar General to postpone the examination indefinitely without conducting a proper investigation into the anonymous letter was arbitrary and against the law.

The court declared that the Registrar General has violated the basic human rights of the petitioners, and as a result ordered the government to pay Rs. 25,000 as compensation to each petitioner.