Wilegoda Liyanage Sajeewana Rohana Rasika Gunawardena vs Divisional Secretary – CA WRIT/283/2013-2016

The case between Wilegoda Liyanage Sajeewana Rohana Rasika Gunawardena (Petitioner) and the Divisional Secretary, Divisional Secretariat of Mawanella, Land Commissioner General, and others (Respondents) addressed the issue of whether the authorities lawfully entered the 5th respondent, Wilegoda Liyanage Karunathilake, as successor to certain agricultural land under the Land Development Ordinance, excluding the petitioner’s claim. It was held that, in the absence of a surviving nominee or a new nomination at the time of the original grantee’s death, succession devolved to the eldest surviving son, reaffirming the principle that statutory succession under the Third Schedule to the Land Development Ordinance prevails where no valid nomination is in effect. The decision relied upon Sections 49