Subasinghage Heenhamy vs Hewagamage Ariyarathne – SC APPEAL 171/2011-2011

In the case between Subasinghage Heenhamy (Plaintiff) and Hewagamage Ariyarathne (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether a plaintiff, having possessed state land for over a year, could be lawfully dispossessed by a purported transferee acting under an unregistered and invalid deed. It was held that restoration of possession was due to the plaintiff, reaffirming the principle that uninterrupted, bona fide possession for over one year prior to dispossession confers possessory rights under Section 4 of the Prescription Ordinance and Roman-Dutch law. The decision relied on consistent application of possessory remedies, emphasizing the requirement that a transferor of state land must possess legal authority, and that invalid deeds cannot defeat the rights of parties lawfully in po