Balangoda Plantations PLC vs. Janatha Estates Development and Others – sllr 2019 volume 3 page 525

In Balangoda Plantations PLC v. Janatha Estates Development, Sri Lanka State Plantations Corporation, and the Land Reform Commission, the legal issue concerned whether the Land Reform Commission retained any authority over estate lands that had been vested in the first and second respondents through ministerial Orders made under Section 27A(1) of the Land Reform Law. It was held that upon issuance of such Orders, all rights, title, and interest in the lands passed to the first and second respondents, and any subsequent lease actions by the Land Reform Commission were beyond its legal powers. This decision reaffirmed the principle that administrative authorities are bound to act strictly within the limits of statutory authority. The judgment relied on the construction of the Land Reform Law