R. Gurusinghe J.

The petitioner filed this application seeking the following reliefs.

1. Issue a mandate in the nature of Writ of Certiorari quashing the purported order of the first respondent marked B10.

2. Issue a mandate in the nature of Writ of Mandamus directing 7-15 respondents to reinstate the petitioner with back wages, grant due promotions with associated perks to which, if not for the Vacation of Post, he would have been entitled up to the retirement age of 55 years and then up to 60 years with extensions and all retirement benefits thereafter.

3. Issue a mandate in the nature of Writ of Mandamus directing the Administrative Appeal Tribunal, including 1st and 2nd respondents, to rehear the matter de-novo.

Facts of the case are briefly as follows:

The petitioner was an Assistant Superintendent of Police attached to the Trincomalee Division in March 1995. On 30th April 1995, the DIG Police in Trincomalee issued a “vacation of post” (VOP) notice on the petitioner, with effect from 15^th March 1995. According to the respondents, the petitioner had not reported for work after the 14^th of March 1995. Thereafter, the abovementioned VOP notice was served on the petitioner on 30^th April 1995 at his house in Kandy.

The petitioner then appealed to the DIG Trincomalee, who was the local head of disciplinary authority. Thereafter, the petitioner made an appeal to the Public Service Commission (PSC) to exercise appellate authority over the decision of the disciplinary authority, the IGP. By letter dated 25th September 1995, the secretary to the PSC informed the petitioner that his appeal dated 09^th June 1995 was dismissed, as the commission saw no reason to change the vacation of post order.

The petitioner’s position is that he had been on duty on 15th March 1995 and 16^th March 1995. He further took up that he left Trincomalee on 15^th March 1995 at 14.30 hours with oral permission of the SP and had gone to his home in Kandy. Thereafter, he travelled back to Trincomalee and reached there at 9.30 a.m. on 17^th March 1995, with his family. He further stated that on 17th March 1995, he had left for Colombo with his family by “Lion Air” flight at 4.30 p.m., after obtaining oral permission from the SP. The petitioner further states that on the 18^th of March 1995, he came back to Trincomalee at 12.15 hours and remained there until the 19th of March 1995. He further states that on 20^th March 1995, he went on three days of approved leave to Kandy, and while he was in Kandy, he fell sick on 23rd March 1995, due to Malaria and had to obtain medical treatment from the General Hospital in Kandy.

By a letter dated 13^th April 1995, the Deputy Inspector General of Police Eastern Range wrote to the Inspector General of Police that, from 15th March 1995, the petitioner’s whereabouts were not known. He further states as follows:

“As per the IG’s transfer orders Ref. D/ND/1/356/95 dated 21^st March 1995 transferring him from Trincomalee to Morawewa District, this officer has left the Division to an unknown destination without permission from SP Trincomalee or the DIG Range. He did not report at Morawewa. From 15.3.1995, his whereabouts are not known”.

The petitioner had taken up the position before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) that he had conducted the prosecution in a number of non- summary cases in the Magistrate’s Court of Trincomalee on 15th March 1995. On the direction of the AAT, the secretary of the AAT inquired about this matter from the Magistrate of Trincomalee, and the Learned Magistrate of Trincomalee replied to the AAT. AAT has quoted the following from the Learned Magistrate’s reply. “On perusal of case no. NS 7554/94, I would like to inform you further that Mr Sarath Dhanapala, ASP, appeared in this case, on behalf of the prosecution on 08.02.1995, 22.02.1995 and 08.03.1995”. The AAT has observed that the Learned Magistrate made no mention of any appearance by the petitioner on the date in question, namely 15.03.1995. In this petition,