Kelani Valley Plantations PLC vs H.A.P. Amarasena – SC APPEAL 89/2020-2024

In the case between H.A.P. Amarasena and Kelani Valley Plantations PLC, Anura Senanayaka, and Dudley Ananda Subhasinghe, the court addressed the applicability of the Estate Quarters (Special Provisions) Act No.2 of 1971 to an Ayurvedic practitioner employed on contract and provided official quarters. The central issue concerned whether the plaintiff, paid monthly rather than hourly or daily, qualified for statutory protection and whether the award of Rs. 250,000 in damages for termination of services and utility interruptions was justified. The findings established that the Act did not apply to the plaintiff due to the structure of his remuneration, and precedent supported that continued occupancy post-contract amounted to trespassing. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s award of