Stay on the transfer of land in Sampur revoked

The Supreme Court lifted the stay on the transfer of land in Sampur area to the displaced following an intervening  petition to the court to return the land.

A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice S Sripavan on 20 May 2015 lifted the stay on the transfer of 818 acres of land to war displaced in Sampur.

Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian MA Sumanthiran submitted an intervention to Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court demanding return of appropriated lands in Sampur.

The bench accepted the plea of the counsel that the Government had consistently held that the lands seized by the military in 2006-07 during the height of war in the East would be returned to the displaced Tamils of the area.

In 2013, the Board of Investment (BOI) signed an agreement with Sri Lanka Gateway Industries (SLGI) (Private) Limited to develop, operate, and manage a special industrial zone for heavy industries around the north eastern Trincomalee Harbor.

The President Sirisena revoked the BOI agreement on 07 May 2015 and the Government repossessed 818 acres released to the BOI. The SLGI filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the decision and granted interim relief to the petitioner suspending the President’s gazette notification revoking the state grant made to the BOI.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Rohini Marasinghe, Buwaneka Aluwihare and Upali Abeyratna issued the Interim Relief Order preventing the implementation of President’s order until the SLGI’s petition is taken up on 21 May 2015.