Kerewgoda Dona Shiromi vs Hanwellage Don Francis and Hettige Don Newton Donatus – SC APPEAL NO. 88/2017-2022

In the case between Kerewgoda Dona Shiromi (Plaintiff) and Hanwellage Don Francis and Hettige Don Newton Donatus (Defendants), the court addressed the issue of whether the Defendants and their predecessors acquired a right of way over the Plaintiff’s land by prescription pursuant to the Prescription Ordinance. It was held that the Defendants failed to establish a prescriptive right because adverse possession could not be proven prior to 1986, and use was shown to have originated from permission rather than as of right. This holding reaffirmed the principle that prescriptive rights demand a clear demonstration of adverse, uninterrupted, and independent use for the statutorily prescribed period. Reliance was placed on relevant statutory provisions and legal precedents, emphasizing that permi