Kegalle Plantation PLC v. L.D. Kumara Tennakoon and others – SC FR 442/2016-2023

In the case between Kegalle Plantation PLC, its director Sriyan Eriyagama, and S.D. Munasinghe (Party A), and a range of state officials and officers including Divisional Secretaries and Ministers among others (Party B), the issue addressed was whether the Petitioners’ fundamental rights under Article 12(1) were violated due to eviction from land following disputed lease agreements and alleged procedural improprieties. It was determined that failure to include the Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB), the original lessor, as a party in the application constituted a critical omission undermining the Petitioners’ position. The court further established that no legitimate expectation to retain possession of land in excess of the area legally vested could be substantiated. Reference was mad