Visenthi Baduge Piyasiri vs. Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Gunarathna Banda – SC APPEAL NO. 42/2010-2022

In the case between Visenthi Baduge Piyasiri (Plaintiff) and Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Gunarathna Banda (Defendant), the court addressed whether a deed of gift is irrevocable or may be revoked when the donor has expressly reserved the right. It was held that the deed of revocation was valid and effectively nullified the original deed of gift, and that subsequent deeds of gift and transfer based on the original deed conferred no title. The governing principle reaffirmed is that a donor’s express reservation of revocation renders a deed of gift revocable, and once a valid revocation is executed, subsequent conveyances based on the original deed cannot create valid title. Statutory provisions, including Section 66 of the Primary Courts Procedure Act, were held not to affect property rights, a