Razaqh v. Suraweera and Others – sllr 2002 volume 3 page 155

Brief
In the case between Razaqh (petitioner, owner of six houses) and Suraweera and others (including the Commissioner of National Housing), the issue concerned whether houses deemed as surplus and vested automatically by operation of law under the Ceiling on Housing Property Law could be challenged by appeal. It was held that vesting in such circumstances is not an appealable “decision or determination,” reaffirming the principle that automatic vesting by operation of statutory provisions cannot be contested through statutory appeals. The decision relied on the proper construction of the Ceiling on Housing Property Law, specifically sections 8 and 39, and clarified that procedural arguments concerning delay or substitution do not alter the fundamental non-appealable nature of automatic v