K. G. Ranjith Samarakoon vs The Director General, Forest Department – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 157/2022-2023

In the dispute between K. G. Ranjith Samarakoon (Petitioner) and the Director General, Forest Department; Kushan S. Mihipitiya, Range Forest Officer; and the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department (Respondents), the court addressed the question of whether legal proceedings under the Forest Ordinance were appropriate given unresolved facts concerning land ownership and boundaries adjoining a Forest Reserve. It was held that the writ of mandamus should issue in favor of the petitioner for the release of land wrongly classified as reserved forest, reiterating the principle that administrative authorities must act upon a properly established factual foundation before exercising statutory powers. The ruling considered discrepancies in land surveys and deeds, emphasizing that furth