Amarsinghe and Another vs. Kahandawarachchi and Others – sllr 2021 volume 2 page 039

In the case between Amarasinh and Another (Plaintiffs) and Kahandawarachchi and Others (Defendants), the court examined whether pleadings could be amended after the pre-trial stage under sections 18(1) and 93(2) of the Civil Procedure Code, with particular focus on the proposed addition of the third defendant as a plaintiff amidst allegations of laches. The primary holding determined that post-pre-trial amendments to pleadings are strictly barred unless it is convincingly established that denial would cause grave and irremediable injustice and the applicant is entirely free from laches. This interpretation, reaffirmed by recent amendments to the Civil Procedure Code, resulted in setting aside the High Court of Civil Appeal’s order and reinstating the District Court’s earlier ruling, with c