The Attorney General has informed the Supreme Court that the University Grants Commission (UGC), the Vice Chancellor of Eastern University, and other relevant authorities have agreed to reinstate Professor Jeewaratnam Kennedy as the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) in the Eastern University.
This assurance was conveyed by a Senior State Counsel appearing for the Attorney General, during the hearing of a fundamental rights petition filed by Prof. Kennedy, who challenged his premature removal from the position. Prof. Kennedy alleged that his removal, after serving only one and a half years of his three-year appointment, violated his fundamental rights.
The case was taken up before a bench comprising Justices S. Thurairaja and Mahinda Samayawardena.
Counsel for the petitioner, Attorney Himali Kularatne, submitted that Prof. Kennedy had been duly appointed as Dean through a formal process involving a public call for applications and interviews. She said her client had received a letter of appointment and had performed his duties to the satisfaction of the Vice Chancellor, the University Council, and the wider academic community. Despite this, he was removed from the post without explanation, she argued, adding that Prof. Kennedy has a 25-year record of unblemished service at the same institution.
Responding on behalf of the state, the Senior State Counsel maintained that there had been no malicious intent behind the removal. The counsel explained that the Dean’s post had not been officially listed in the university’s approved cadre at the time of the appointment. With the post now formally recognised, the authorities had agreed to reinstate Prof. Kennedy with effect from July 1.
By A. J. A. Abeynayake 