Kalubowila Kankanamage Don Sanath Rupasinghe v. G P S J De Zoysa and Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC/167/2009-2017

In the case between Kalubowila Kankanamage Don Sanath Rupasinghe (Petitioner-Appellant) and G P S J De Zoysa, Divisional Secretary, Padaviya, along with the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent-Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the Provincial High Court possessed jurisdiction under Article 154P(4)(b) and Article 138 of the Constitution to grant writs of certiorari and mandamus in matters relating to the recovery, dispossession, or alienation of state lands. It was held that Provincial High Courts lack jurisdiction in such matters if they are not included in the Provincial Council List (List 1) of the 9th Schedule to the 13th Amendment. This reaffirmed the principle, established in _Superintendent, Stafford Estate v. Solaimuthu Rasu_, that State land is not devolved on Pro