Range Forest Officer vs. Kalanchige Gamini Thilakarathne, Kalanchige Kalum & Walimunuge Premathilake – CPA/111/2021-2022

In the case between Chandrani Wijerama (Appellant/Claimant-Petitioner) and the Range Forest Officer (Bellanwila) and the Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Respondents), the court addressed whether the appellant, as the owner, had demonstrated adequate “due diligence” under Section 64(1) of the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, particularly given the repeated use of the vehicle in commission of offences in a protected sanctuary. It was held that the appellant did not satisfy the statutory requirement to prove that reasonable precautions were taken to prevent the vehicle’s misuse. The principles underpinning natural justice, such as the right to notice and to be heard, were observed. The court confirmed the confiscation of the vehicle, relying on statutory interpretation of Sect