Sujeewa Senasinghe to take Agrarian Commissioner to courts

UNP MP Sujeewa Senasinghe is contemplating legal action against the Commissioner General of Agrarian Services on the grounds of malicious prosecution and defamation, seeking damages.

MP Senasinghe earlier filed a case against the Commissioner General who attempted to fill his land.

When the case was heard in the Supreme Court on July 23, the Commissioner General was ordered to make a declaration that the land in question was not a paddy field. The Supreme Court observed that the said land was not suitable for paddy cultivation and did not come under the purview of the Agrarian Development Act.

Mr. Senasinghe said the Agrarian Officer who raised the initial objections, offered to accept a bribe from his driver in return for dropping the objections. Only upon lodging a complaint to Minister S.M. Chandrasena in 2011, did the Commissioner General of Agrarian Services certify that the land in question was not paddy land.

Further objections of filling a paddy field were raised in 2013, when he started constructing a building on the land. This time however, the Commissioner General had completely avoided the issue.