Nilwalavidulibala Company (Pvt.) Ltd. Vs Kotapola Pradeshiya Sabha and Others – sllr 2005 volume 1 page 296

In NILWALAVIDULIBALA COMPANY (PVT) LTD. v. KOTAPOLA PRADESHIYA SABHA and Others, the court considered whether the Pradeshiya Sabha possessed jurisdiction to grant permissions for hydroelectric projects in light of the constitutional distribution of legislative powers, and which judicial forum was appropriate for entertaining writs of mandamus and prohibition in such matters. It was determined that hydro power generation, not being specified in the Provincial or Concurrent Lists under the 13th Amendment, constitutes a Reserved Subject. Therefore, any relief regarding such matters must be determined under the Court of Appeal’s writ jurisdiction per Article 140 of the Constitution. The preliminary objection to the court’s jurisdiction was overruled, reaffirming that the Court of Appeal retain