Rajalingam vs. Colombo Municipal Council – sllr 2020 volume 1 page 179

In the case between Rajalingam (Appellant) and the Colombo Municipal Council (Respondent), the court addressed whether a local authority’s delegation of powers under section 23(5) of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Law authorized the institution of demolition proceedings under section 28A(3) for unauthorized constructions. The court determined that such delegation was lawful and that the substantive as well as procedural provisions of the UDA Law had been correctly interpreted and applied in the proceedings. It was further established that illegality in construction extinguished tenancy rights under the Rent Act, reinforcing the operative primacy of the planning regime. Reliefs outside section 28A(3) of the UDA Law were deemed inadmissible, and the Magistrate was directed to consider