Hettiarachchige Don Nicholas Heliyan v. Peththaperuma Arachchi Somawathie – SC APPEAL NO.51/2015-2016

Brief
In the case between Peththaperuma Arachchi Somawathie (Plaintiff–Respondent) and Hettiarachchige Don Nicholas Heliyan (Defendant–Appellant), the Supreme Court reviewed a dispute regarding the ownership and alleged transfer of rights over a parcel of land under an Agreement to Sell (V4) and conditions of a prior Grant (P2) governed by the Land Development Ordinance. Central to the dispute was whether statutory prohibitions—specifically Sections 42 and 46 of the Ordinance—rendered the sale agreement unenforceable due to “supervening illegality,” and whether related conditions had been satisfied. The Court ultimately held that the Agreement to Sell was not frustrated by supervening illegality and that no evidence disproved its enforceability. Previous judgments granting relief to the pl