L.C. Prasanna Perera and P.H. A. Jagath Shantha Wijepala vs University of Uva Wellessa et al. – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO.649/09-2015

In the dispute between L.C. Prasanna Perera, Chandana Concrete Works, P.H.A. Jagath Shantha Wijepala, Amtron Marketing Services (petitioners), and the University of Uva Wellessa, University Grants Commission, Secretary, Ministry of Higher Education, Secretary, Ministry of Industrial Development, and District Secretary (Badulla) (respondents), the court examined whether the petitioners, as former allottees of government industrial land, retained any lawful written authority or permit to occupy their respective plots following a governmental policy shift leading to the establishment of a university on the same land. The court determined that no formal lease or valid written authority was ever executed in favor of the petitioners under the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act No.7 of 1979