Rajakaruna vs. Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC – sllr 2021 volume 1 page 301

In the case between Rajakaruna (Plaintiff) and Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC and another (Defendants), the court considered the application of Section 402 of the Civil Procedure Code regarding abatement of actions following prolonged inactivity by the plaintiff. The principal issue involved whether the plaintiff’s request to reissue summons after an extended lapse constituted sufficient action to prevent abatement, and how judicial discretion should be applied under Section 402. It was held that issuance of an order to reissue summons amounted to a substantive prosecutorial step, precluding mandatory abatement. The court reaffirmed that Section 402 confers judicial discretion rather than imposing an automatic requirement to abate in cases of delay. The decision relied on the interpretatio