Podimahatmaya v. The Land Reform Commission and Another – sllr 1990 volume 2 page 416

In the case between Podimahathmaya (plaintiff) and the Land Reform Commission and Samarasinghe (defendants), the court considered whether the Land Reform Commission lawfully exercised its powers under the Land Reform Law in repeatedly vesting and divesting Lot 4. The principal issue concerned the legitimacy and reasonableness of administrative decision-making and whether a writ of mandamus should be issued to enforce a statutory determination (order P6) and restrict further detrimental changes (order P7). The court held that repeated reversals in administrative determinations regarding Lot 4 constituted manifest unreasonableness and were subject to judicial intervention. The decision reinforced the principle that administrative authorities must act reasonably and within statutory bounds. T