Eliyatambi vs Fernando – SC APPEAL NO. 120/2014-2021

The case between Samuel Vivendra Eliyatambi (Plaintiff/Respondent) and John Cyril Fernando (1st Defendant/Appellant, now deceased), Selwyn Danaraj Eliyatambi, Surangani Jayasekera, and Marinie Samantha Jayasekera (Defendants/Respondents) addressed the issue of the validity of a Power of Attorney executed when the Plaintiff was a minor, and whether subsequent ratification upon attaining majority rendered that Power of Attorney valid for the purposes of property transfer. The holding established that the Plaintiff’s post-majority conduct constituted ratification, thereby validating the impugned Power of Attorney and subsequent transactions, including the disputed sale. The principle reaffirmed is that a contract entered into during minority, if ratified by unequivocal conduct upon attaining