Finance & Land Sales Ltd vs Perera – sllr 2005 volume 2 page 079

In the case between Finance & Land Sales Ltd (Plaintiff) and Perera (Defendant), the court addressed whether revision could be sought against an ex parte judgment on its merits and whether granting relief in the alternative, exceeding the plaintiff’s prayer, constituted a miscarriage of justice. It was held that a trial court’s error in awarding more relief than was sought, especially without distinguishing between alternative prayers, warranted the intervention of the court through its revisionary powers to prevent injustice. This reaffirmed the principle that an act of the court shall not prejudice any party (“actus curiae neminem gravabit”). Reliance was placed on Section 753 of the Civil Procedure Code, with emphasis on the court’s duty to rectify errors resulting in unfair outcomes.