Dharmaratne vs Hewasundera – sllr 1995 volume 1 page 220

In Dharmaratne (plaintiff/appellant) v. Hewasundera (defendant/respondent), the issue concerned whether Marthelis satisfied the statutory requirements to be regarded as a “cultivator” under Section 68 of the Agrarian Services Act, and whether the entry in the Agricultural Lands Register should be deemed conclusive for tenant cultivation rights. The underlying facts established that although Marthelis was registered as the tenant cultivator for a 2-acre paddy field, the evidence indicated that he personally cultivated only a 1/4 acre, with other individuals cultivating the remaining land. The Assistant Commissioner and the Court of Appeal had previously supported the claim of Marthelis’s eviction from the land. On appeal, the status of cultivator was held to be contingent upon the actual ex