Former Sri Lankan minister and Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) leader Douglas Devananda has agreed to return a commercial property in Jaffna to its original owners within 18 months, following a court case over premises allegedly held under his control for more than three decades, the Tamil Guardian newspaper has reported.
Devananda gave the undertaking recently before the Jaffna District Court during proceedings in a case filed by the property’s legal owners, who sought the return of the commercial premises situated in a shopping complex on Stanley Road, opposite Sridhar Cinema in Jaffna.
The owners alleged that Devananda had forcibly occupied and retained control of the property against their wishes for more than 30 years. They further claimed that he had continued to exercise control over the premises by using his position as a Member of Parliament and his ministerial powers.
According to the report, Devananda had previously promised in 2015 to return the property to its rightful owners. However, the undertaking was not fulfilled, prompting the owners to initiate legal proceedings to recover their premises.
During the court proceedings, the former minister acknowledged that the plaintiffs were the rightful owners of the properties in question. He initially requested three years to vacate the premises and formally hand them back to the owners.
The property owners’ lawyers strongly opposed the request, arguing against granting Devananda the additional time he had sought. Following their objections, he eventually agreed to leave the premises completely and return them to the legal owners within the next 18 months.
The undertaking was made before the Jaffna District Court as part of the ongoing proceedings initiated by the property owners.
The case concerns commercial premises in a shopping complex on Stanley Road, opposite Sridhar Cinema, which the owners claim Devananda had retained for more than three decades despite their legal ownership and his earlier commitment to return the property in 2015.
