Lilipita Mudiyanselage Kanthi Athuruwala Giriulla Vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC 176/2011-2011

In the case between Lilipita Mudiyanselage Kanthi (Respondent-Petitioner-Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General and others, including the Divisional Secretary (Respondents-Respondents), the court addressed whether the appellant was entitled to occupy State land without a valid permit or written authority, and the legality of eviction orders made by the Magistrate and High Court under the State Land (Recovery of Possession) Act No. 7 of 1979. It was held that occupation of State land requires valid authority, and in the absence of such authority, continued possession is not permitted. The decision reaffirmed the principle established in Muhandiram v. Chairman JEDB (1992 (1) SLR 110) and Nirmal Paper Converters v. Sri Lanka Ports Authority (1993 (1) SLR 219), that possession of State land