K A Podimahaththaya Vs. Divisional Secretary and others – CA PHC APN/125/2016-2017

In the case between K A Podimahaththaya and the Divisional Secretary, Divisional Secretariat, Gangawata Korale, Kandy, the court addressed the issue of whether the Divisional Secretary was the competent authority to issue a quit notice and initiate eviction proceedings under the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act, or whether such authority was exclusively vested in the General Manager of Railways, given the contention that the property was under the control of the Railway Department. The court held that the Divisional Secretary was a competent authority under the Act to invoke these statutory powers, and that neither section 18 of the Act nor provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act precluded the proceedings. The principle reaffirmed was that the Government Agent and related