Desmond De Perera and Others v. Karunaratne, Commissioner For National Housing – sllr 1997 volume 1 page 148

In the case between Desmond De Perera and Others (Plaintiff) and Karunaratne, Commissioner for National Housing (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether the Commissioner’s divesting order—removing ownership of certain houses due to tenants’ non-compliance with statutory time limits for purchase applications—constituted a breach of natural justice or a valid exercise of statutory authority. The court determined that the statutory framework, particularly Sections 2, 8, 9, 12, and 17A of the Ceiling on Housing Property Law, mandated strict compliance with application timelines for the purchase of surplus houses. The findings established that the tenants’ failure to file timely purchase applications barred them from claiming a right to purchase, and the divesting order was lawfull