Rajakaruna Mudiyanselage Jayawardhena Vs. Director General, Mahaweli Authority, et al – CA WRIT 0293/2019-2022

In the case between Rajakaruna Mudiyanselage Jayawardhena (plaintiff) and the Director General of the Mahaweli Authority, the Resident Project Manager (Land), the Commissioner and Registrar of Lands, the 5th and 6th Respondents, and the Attorney General (respondents), the court addressed the validity of the nomination of successors to state land under Chapter VII of the Land Development Ordinance. It was held that where permits and grants are issued in the name of a widow due to the original applicant’s death prior to issuance, the widow’s nomination of successors is consistent with the statutory framework. The holding reaffirmed that nominations of successors by a lawful permit-holder prevail, and that the eldest son’s claim to automatic succession is unsupported by the Ordinance. Relianc