Ratnayake and Another v. Karunawathie – sllr 1983 volume 2 page 541

In the case between the plaintiff, an individual injured in a motor accident, and the defendants, comprising the owner of the motor lorry and the driver (acting as employee or agent), the court addressed whether, in a contested trial, evidence may be adduced by affidavit in lieu of oral testimony. It was held that, according to the Civil Procedure Code—specifically Sections 151, 166, 167, 179, and 180—evidence in contested proceedings must be presented orally, with deviation permitted only upon sufficient and recorded reason. The principle established reiterates judicial restraint in permitting affidavit evidence in contested trials, unless grave cause is shown for departure. The judgment relied on the substantive procedural requirements of the Civil Procedure Code, disallowing the plainti