Balangoda Plantations PLC vs. Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Minister of Lands and Land Development and Others – sllr 2016 volume 1 page 259

In the case between Balangoda Plantations PLC (plaintiff) and Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Minister of Lands and Land Development, among other governmental respondents (defendants), the court addressed the issue of whether a writ application for Certiorari and Prohibition was filed within the mandatory one-month period as stipulated by Section 4(2) of the Urban Development Projects (Special Provisions) Act No. 2 of 1980. The court held that the application was filed out of time, resulting in its dismissal, while overruling objections concerning the inclusion of necessary parties and the petitioner’s locus standi. The principle affirmed is that the statutory time limit for initiating such writ proceedings is mandatory and not subject to judicial discretion. In arriving at this determination, r