Madduma Liyanage Bandumathee vs. Ajith Priyankara – SC APPEAL 28/2016-2024

In the case between Madduma Liyanage Bandumathee (Plaintiff) and Ajith Priyankara (Defendant), the central legal issue concerned the ownership and possession of immovable property, specifically whether the Defendant had acquired prescriptive title through undisturbed and uninterrupted possession or whether the Plaintiff retained ownership based on a deed and prior possession. It was held that the Defendant’s sustained possession from approximately 1990, supported by both oral and documentary evidence, satisfied the requirements under Section 3 of the Prescription Ordinance for acquisition of prescriptive title. The findings reaffirmed the principle that a party occupying property openly, continuously, and adversely for the statutory period may secure title, even against a deed-holder, if t