Premasiri V Gunapala – sllr 2004 volume 2 page 125

In the case between the plaintiff (claiming title and ancestral possession of the disputed land based on a Swarnabhoomi Deed) and the defendant (in possession since 1984, resisting eviction, and asserting continuous occupation and cultivation), the court addressed whether a stay of execution of the eviction decree should be granted pending appeal, in light of alleged irreparable loss and statutory requirements. It was held that a stay should be granted, reiterating the principle that the risk of irreparable injury and the proper interpretation of procedural statutes must inform interim relief. The decision relied upon section 763(2) of the Civil Procedure Code and section 23 of the Judicature Act, clarifying that a Commissioner for Oaths acts as an all Island Justice of the Peace and that