Divisional Secretary, Manikhinna vs. Buhardeen – sllr 2019 volume 2 page 346

In the case between the Divisional Secretary, Manikhinna (Petitioner) and Buhardeen (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether an ejectment order under the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act should be reinstated after the High Court had set it aside, especially in light of statutory amendments affecting the interpretation of “unauthorised possession or occupation” and the authority of the Divisional Secretary to initiate such proceedings. It was held that the amended Act broadened the scope of ejectment applications to cover state land acquired by encroachment and that the Divisional Secretary possessed the necessary competence to bring the application. The court reaffirmed the principle that judicial decrees in private disputes cannot serve as “written authority of the S