Rukmal Susantha Dias vs Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation and others – CA WRT/0187/2019-2023

In the matter between Rukmal Susantha Dias (representing himself and several co-owners’ descendants) and Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation, Ministers, and the Attorney General, the court considered whether assurances of alternative land, based on specific documents (P45 and P47), created a legitimate expectation, and whether prerogative writs should be issued where no land had been vested with the Land Reform Commission. It was held that such assurances lacked legal basis since the property remained private, and that writ relief was not appropriate given the existence of an alternative remedy in the District Court. The decision reaffirmed the principle that disputes over title and possession are to be resolved by courts with original civil jurisdiction, and not through extraordinary