Priyantha Nilmini Manawadu vs The Land Reforms Commission – CA WRIT 234/2018-2025

In the case between the Petitioners, heirs of Nihal De Silva, and the Land Reform Commission (LRC), Janatha Estate Development Board (JEDB), Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Attorney General’s Department, the court addressed the issue of compliance with a writ of mandamus issued in CA/Writ/1537/83, which mandated the alienation of 50 acres of land to Nihal De Silva. It was determined that respondents failed to comply for decades, raising questions regarding the legal consequences of such delay and procedural irregularities under the Land Reform Law No. 1 of 1972. The court held that final judicial orders are binding and cannot be varied or revisited by a court of coordinate jurisdiction, affirming that non-compliance cannot be rectified by re-litigating the issue. Reliance