Thyagaratne vs. Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Development and Another – sllr 2019 volume 2 page 416

In the case between Thyagaratne (Appellant) and the Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Development and Another (Respondents), the court addressed whether new defences or factual matters can be raised by an appellant at the appeal stage in proceedings concerning restrictions under the Agrarian Development Act, No. 46 of 2000. It was held that the appellant is precluded from advancing new questions of fact or defences not raised before the Magistrate’s Court, particularly relating to the status of the subject land as paddy land. The court reaffirmed the principle that appellate review is limited to matters properly raised in earlier proceedings and that compliance with statutory requirements—specifically, obtaining written permission from the Commissioner General to fill paddy land—is mandat