People’s Bank vs. Gamage Don Chandana Haththotuwa – SC APPEAL 31/2023-2024

In the case between People’s Bank (represented by its Board of Directors) and Gamage Don Chandana Haththotuwa (with his late mother, Diasy Haththotuwa), the court addressed whether an application under Section 29P of the People’s Bank Act constitutes an “action” within the meaning of the Prescription Ordinance and the Civil Procedure Code. It was held that such an application does not amount to an “action” as contemplated by those statutes, and the lower courts erred in dismissing the Bank’s application on the basis of a prescriptive right claimed by the respondent. The Supreme Court set aside the prior rulings, allowed the appeal, and instructed the District Court to grant an absolute order for delivery of possession to the appellant. The decision reaffirmed that statutory applications un