S. U. B. Karalliyadde, J.

The argument of this matter has been concluded before His Lordships Justice M. T. Mohammed Laffar (ACT. P/CA) and me, and the Judgment was reserved by Justice Mohammed Laffar. Nevertheless, by the date of the judgment, Justice Mohammed Laffar had retired. With the consent of all parties, I deliver this judgment as a single- bench judgment.

The Petitioners in this Application are land owners of a portion of land called ‘Berawakandawatta’ that is the subject matter of this Application (Lot 1 in extent of 0.239 Hectares in the Preliminary Plan No. ක1977 marked as P46). The Petitioners state that they became the owners of the said land by virtue of deeds marked as P9, P10, P20, P32 and P39. The 2^nd to 5^th Petitioners were served with quit notices on 25.02.2025 under Section 3 of the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act, No. 7 of 1977 (as amended), to vacate the land in question and hand over the possession to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (6^th Respondent). Thereafter, to recover the possession of the land, an application under Section 5 of the State Lands (Recovery of Possession) Act was made against the 2^nd to 5^th Respondents in the Magistrat