D.M. Indrawathie vs Nihal Senaka Kodituwakku – CA PHC APN 116/2019-2022

In the case between D.M. Indrawathie (Plaintiff/Applicant-Appellant-Appellant-Petitioner) and Nihal Senaka Kodituwakku (Defendant/Respondent-Respondent-Respondent-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the Petitioner was entitled to succeed to her deceased mother’s ande (tenant cultivator) rights in disputed paddy land following the mother’s death in 2008. It was held that succession or devolution of ande rights to the Petitioner was not permitted under the Agrarian Development Act No. 46 of 2000, and the subsequent Amendment Act No. 46 of 2011 did not apply retrospectively. The key principle reaffirmed was that unless expressly stated, legislative enactments introducing new rights cannot be applied to past events. The decision relied on the express terms of the statutes and