Kelani Valley Plantations PLC v. Chairman, Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation – CA WRT/170/2019-2022

The case between Kelani Valley Plantations PLC (Formerly Kelani Valley Plantations Limited) and the Chairman, Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation, addressed the issue of whether the Notice to Quit issued by the respondent under the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act, concerning a portion of the Pedro Estate leased to the petitioner, was lawful. It was held that the petitioner’s possession of the entirety of Pedro Estate was under a valid and subsisting lease and that there was no legal basis for treating the petitioner as an unauthorized occupier of State land. The Court reaffirmed the principle that clear identification of the property and proper grounds for terminating possession are necessary preconditions under the statute. The decision relied on the requirements under the St