Harischandra Senarath Rathnayake vs Director General, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority – CA PHC 169/2017-2022

The case between Harischandra Senarath Rathnayake and the Director General, Sri Lanka Mahaweli Authority concerned the jurisdiction of the Provincial High Court of Embilipitiya to hear a revision application involving state lands under Article 154P(3)(b) of the Constitution. It was held that the Provincial High Court’s revisionary and appellate jurisdiction regarding orders of Magistrate’s Courts and Primary Courts is not limited by state land subject matter, and the previous order dismissing jurisdiction was made in error. The established principle clarified that the Supreme Court’s decision in Solaimuthu Rasu applied only to writ jurisdiction and not to revisionary or appellate jurisdiction, reaffirming that constitutional limitations did not preclude High Court jurisdiction in these cir