Ariyadasa Bandarigoda vs Ceylon Electricity Board – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 444/11-2015

In the case between Ariyadasa Bandarigoda, proprietor of Asiri Communication (Petitioner), and the Ceylon Electricity Board with its officials and the Public Utilities Commission (Respondents), the court addressed the legality of the installation of electricity lines along the petitioner’s land and the statutory authority required for such action. The core legal issues concerned whether the procedures under the Sri Lanka Electricity Acts No. 17 of 1969 and No. 20 of 2009 were properly followed, and whether the sixth respondent, Divisional Secretary, lawfully exercised her authority in determining objections to the installation. It was held that the Divisional Secretary exceeded her statutory powers by making decisions she was not authorized to take under the 2009 Act and failed to adhere t