SERVICE PRAVENI LANDS

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Service Praveni Lands Succession Ordinance.

2. The privilege of succeeding to service praveni lands shall be in the female as fully as in the male heirs of all persons who shall die possessed of such lands after this Ordinance shall have come into operation, and such lands shall not revert to the Crown on the failure of male heirs ; and such lands are hereby declared to be henceforth capable of alienation by gift, sale, devise, or other act, or of being charged or encumbered with any debt whatever ; and such lands are hereby further declared to be henceforth liable to be sold by virtue of any writ of execution or other’ legal process of any court of Ceylon.

3. No sale of any service praveni land, or of any share thereof heretofore effected under any writ of execution or other legal process of any court of Ceylon, and no sale or alienation of any such land, or of any share thereof heretofore effected by any person in the lawful possession thereof, shall be deemed to be invalid by reason of anything in Regulation No. 8 of 1309*[* Repealed by Ordinance No. 3 of 1852.] contained, or by reason of such land being service praveni land, unless some suit or other proceeding at law touching the validity of such sale or alienation shall be pending at the time that this Ordinance shall come into operation, in every which excepted case such suit or proceeding shall be determined in such and the same manner as it would have been determined if this Ordinance had not been enacted.

4. Nothing in this Ordinance contained shall or shall be construed to affect the rate of tax to which any service praveni lands may be liable.