U. Don Reginold Felix De Silva vs. Director (Land) Acquisition Officer, Road Development Authority – S C APPEAL 36/2019-2024

In the case between U. Don Reginold Felix De Silva and Madduma Arachchilage Sadimenike (as petitioners) and the Director (Land) Acquisition Officer, Road Development Authority (as respondent), the issue concerned whether the petitioners had established a prescriptive title to land acquired by the State under the Land Acquisition Act. The court determined that evidence regarding continuous possession, construction on the land, and the payment of municipal rates failed to establish a claim of prescriptive title. The holding reaffirmed the principle that the burden of proof for prescriptive title requires clear and convincing evidence of uninterrupted and exclusive possession for the statutory period. Reliance was placed on established statutory law governing prescription and land acquisition