B.M. Tudor Nishantha vs Wickrama Arachchilage Leelanath Wickrama Arachchi and others – CA RII/27/2022-2025

In the case between B.M. Tudor Nishantha (Respondent-Petitioner) and Wickrama Arachchilage Leelanath Wickrama Arachchi (Director, Plantation Industry Monitoring Division, Ministry of Plantation) along with other respondents, the court addressed the legal validity of an eviction order issued by the Magistrate of Bandarawela in relation to disputed land involving alleged conflicting title claims and lease arrangements. It was held that the eviction order was valid, as the petitioner failed to establish a subsisting title to the land at the time of the application; the doctrine of restitutio in integrum was found inapplicable. The principle reaffirmed was that the power of the Land Reform Commission was circumscribed by subsisting leases and could not disrupt valid tenancy or confer title con