Vajira Maninngamuwa Bangsa Jayah v. Samarakoon Mudiyanselage Chandrasena and others – CA WRIT NO: 0350/2020-2022

In the case between Vajira Maninngamuwa Bangsa Jayah and Samarakoon Mudiyanselage Chandrasena, Minister of Lands, S. Vijayakumar, Divisional Secretary, and the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, the court addressed the lawfulness of acquisition of land for the Moragahakanda-Kaluganga Development Project under the Land Acquisition Act (No. 9 of 1950, as amended), centering on the procedural requirement of the section 2 Notice. It was held that the Respondents’ actions to acquire and take possession of the Petitioner’s land were ultra vires and unlawful since the impugned land was not included within the boundaries of the section 2 Notice, a mandatory precondition for lawful acquisition. The decision reaffirmed the principle that strict compliance with statutory procedures, especially pre-acqu