The Municipal Council, Batticaloa vs M K Ratnasingam – CA PHC/287/2005-2018

In the case between the Municipal Council, Batticaloa and Commissioner of Municipal Council, Batticaloa (Respondent-Petitioner-Appellants) and M K Ratnasingam (Informant-Respondent-Respondent), the court addressed whether the statutory recovery of possession of municipal property from an unlawful occupier by a public body, pursuant to the Municipal Councils Ordinance, constitutes a dispute affecting land under section 66(1)(b) of the Primary Courts Procedure Act No. 44 of 1979, where a breach of the peace is threatened or likely. It was held that the statutory exercise of a right to evict by a public authority does not amount to such a dispute and does not justify the assumption of jurisdiction by the Primary Court or the Provincial High Court under section 66(1)(b). The decision reaffirme