Sunil Pathirana alias Sinhala Pedige Karunaratne vs. Hemalatha Edirisinghe (Deceased), Lalajini Hemali Edirisinghe, Lalani Rukmali Edirisinghe, and P.M. Premarathne – SC APPEAL 49/2012-2015

In the case between the landlord (Plaintiff) and the 2nd Defendant (subtenant, Appellant), with representatives substituting for the deceased 1st Defendant, the court addressed whether procedural defects in the notice and petition of appeal—specifically misaddressing the notice to the wrong court and naming a deceased party—invalidate an appeal or function as technical errors amenable to correction under Sections 754, 755, and 759 of the Civil Procedure Code. The court held that such defects, being technical, are curable if promptly corrected and where no material prejudice occurs. This reaffirmed the principle that procedural requirements should be applied to facilitate, not frustrate, the right of appeal, provided statutory safeguards against prejudice are observed. The decision relied o