K Gunapalan, Village President, Paddiruppu and others vs. Hon. Minister of Rural Economic Affairs and others – NO. 431/2016-2016

In the case between K Gunapalan and others (Petitioners, including representatives of Paddiruppu organizations) and the Hon. Minister of Rural Economic Affairs and others (Respondents, including government officials and ministers), the Court addressed whether third-party intervenient petitioners may be permitted to intervene in a Court of Appeal writ application seeking a Writ of Mandamus under Article 140 of the Constitution. The Court held that intervention in such writ applications is not permitted under the Court of Appeal Rules 1990. The principle reaffirmed is that intervenient petitions in writ proceedings are not provided for by these Rules, and prior authoritative judicial interpretation, notably the Weerakoon and another vs Bandaragama Pradeshiya Sabhawa decision, is binding. The