Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd. v. Shanmugam and Another – sllr 1995 volume 1 page 055

In Shanmugam and Another v. Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation Ltd., the court examined whether restitutio in integrum could be granted to annul an ex parte decree and reinstate the petitioner’s prior legal position. The central issues concerned the timeliness of the petitioner’s responses, the sufficiency of claims of fraud or deceit, and whether the circumstances justified extraordinary relief under established legal doctrines. It was held that the petitioner’s delay and failure to use available remedies—revision or appeal—precluded the grant of restitutio in integrum. The court reaffirmed that this remedy is discretionary, applicable only in exceptional cases of genuine injustice, and is not intended to rectify a party’s own negligence. Reliance was placed on principles derived from Roman