Munasinghe and Others vs. Prabhath Kumara – sllr 2019 volume 2 page 188

In the case between Munasinghe and Others (Petitioners) and Prabhath Kumara (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the Magistrate’s Court possessed jurisdiction under section 66 of the Primary Courts’ Procedure Act in a dispute over paddy and state land, particularly when a landlord–tenant cultivator relationship was in question. It was held that jurisdiction under section 66 remains with the Magistrate’s Court so long as there is no mutual acceptance of such a relationship between the parties, reaffirming the principle that jurisdiction is not ousted by the mere assertion that land is “paddy or state land,” but rather depends on the facts of the relationship between disputants. The decision relied on statutory provisions and case law, underscoring that where no mutual ackn