School land acquisition for the Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Project: The SC directs CEB to construct the promised school auditorium.

The Supreme Court today ordered the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to construct an auditorium for Thalawakele Tamil Maha Vidyalaya for its failure to build a new auditorium as agreed in lieu of land acquisition for the Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Project. The Supreme Court further ordered the Project Director of the Hydro Power Project to pay Rs. 25,000 as a cost to three petitioners, the members of the School Development Society. A three-judge-bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya, Justice L.T.B Dehideniya and S. Thurairaja declared that the Fundamental Rights guaranteed to the petitioner under Article 12 (1) of the Constitution have been infringed upon by the CEB and Project Director of the Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Project by not building the auditorium as agreed. The petitioners, the members of the School Development Society of Talawakelle Tamil Maha Vidyalaya, had filed this petition for the wellbeing of the school and the right to education of the students. The alleged infringement is based on the failure of the respondents to build the new auditorium as agreed by them. The school was relocated as the land on which the previous buildings of the school were situated was acquired for the Upper Kothmale Hydro Power Project. The petitioners' complaint that the fundamental rights guaranteed in terms of Article 12(1) have been violated is based on the concept of legitimate expectation as they had such an expectation that the respondents would construct the auditorium building as promised in order to continue proper education of the students of Talawakelle Tamil Maha Vidyalaya. The Court held that the arbitrary decision of the respondents to deviate from the initial plan for extraneous reasons, including intervention by political authorities, had resulted in a violation of Article 12(1) of the Constitution. Counsel Shantha Jayawardena and Thilini Vidanagamage appeared for the petitioners. Deputy Solicitor General Yuresha de Silva, Nihal Jayawardena PC, Uditha Egalahewa PC, Malik Hannan and Ranga Dayananda appeared for the respondents.