Liyana Arachchige Sujatha Hatnapitiya Wijesundara v. Wijesinghe Arachchillage Pushpa Ranjanie Dharmaratne Wijesinghe et al. – SC APPEAL 81/2020-2021

In the case between Liyana Arachchige Sujatha (Plaintiff) and, among others, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th defendants, the Supreme Court addressed the validity of deed No. 8474 (4V1), which transferred a share of land post-institution of a partition action but prior to the registration of lis pendens. It was held that rights in partition actions are determined at the time of institution, but that a transfer effected between the institution and the registration of lis pendens is not nullified by the Partition Law. This position reaffirms the legal principle that all parties in a partition action hold dual status and that deeds executed before registration of lis pendens retain their validity. The court relied upon relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Code and the Partition Law to conclude tha