Wijenathan v. The Bishop of Chilaw – sllr 1987 volume 1 page 247

In the case between The Bishop of Chilaw (Plaintiff) and a tenant occupying premises since 1964 (Defendant), the court addressed whether a corporate body—in the capacity of executor and trustee under a Last Will creating a charitable Trust—could seek ejectment of a tenant on the ground of reasonable requirement under section 22(7) of the Rent Act. The findings established that a corporate body, acquiring property through a Last Will and not by inheritance from a parent or spouse, does not possess the requisite beneficial interest mandated by statute for sustaining an ejectment action on such grounds. The principle reaffirmed is that statutory protection against ejectment on the basis of reasonable requirement is not overridden by a testator’s charitable disposition or by the corporate stat