Kumaradasa Karunanayake vs Suduweli Kondege Helenis Singho – SC APPEAL NO.43/2014-2016

In the case between S. K. Jinadasa Dharmawardene (Defendant-Appellant) and Srinath Karunanayake (Plaintiff-Respondent), the court addressed the authenticity and evidentiary value of the document marked “P10,” specifically focusing on the genuineness of a contested signature. The proceedings also considered whether substantive new facts regarding the lapse of a liquor license and jurisdictional limits on damages could be raised for the first time on appeal. It was held that newly raised factual material and questions concerning the lapse of the license, as well as arguments extending damages beyond the one-year statutory period, were inadmissible at the appellate stage, given these matters were not established during trial. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that appellate review is circ