SC Upholds Equality in Police Promotion Case: Even If One Person in a Group Is Treated Differently, It Violates the Equal Rights of Other Members 

Considering the incident where one police officer injured during terrorist attacks was granted a backdated promotion while others in the same situation were denied the same benefit, the Supreme Court declared that such selective treatment violates the Constitution. Justice Sampath B. Abayakoon who delivered the judgment reaffirmed a vital principle of equality, stating that “the fundamental rights jurisdiction has been well evolved in a manner that even if a single person belonging to one category of persons who falls within that category has been treated differently, such a treatment amounts to the violation of the fundamental rights of the other members of the same category of persons.”

The case arose from a complaint by a group of police officers who had sustained injuries in the line of duty during terrorist incidents. Although a Cabinet decision made in 2017 directed that officers injured during such operations be granted promotions backdated to the date of their injuries, the authorities failed to extend that relief to these petitioners. They alleged that this omission violated their constitutional right to equality under Article 12(1).

After examining the evidence, the Supreme Court found that one senior police officer in the same category had already been granted the benefit, establishing that the petitioners were treated unequally without justification. The Court therefore ruled that their fundamental rights had been infringed and directed the Inspector General of Police, the National Police Commission, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Security to backdate the petitioners’ first promotions to the dates of their respective injuries and implement the decision within four months.

Case No: SC (FR) Application No: 168/2020 [Decided on 31.07.2025]

Before: : Janak De Silva, J. , K. Priyantha Fernando, J. , Sampath B. Abayakoon, J.