Kariyawasam Majuwanage Prabath Chaminda Perera Vs. Bandara Kalu Thanthrige Dona Mala Kanthi Perera and others – SC Appeal 189/2015-2025

The court addressed the survivability of a cause of action for the revocation of a deed of gift due to gross ingratitude, particularly concerning the stage of *litis contestatio*. The original plaintiff sought to revoke two deeds: one to his wife for ingratitude and another by his wife to her daughter for fraud. Following the plaintiff’s death, his son’s application for substitution was denied by the District Court and High Court, which deemed the action *in personam* and abated before *litis contestatio*. The Supreme Court determined that the action was not exclusively *in personam* due to additional prayers for a declaration of title and revocation based on fraud. It was clarified that *litis contestatio* integrates with Section 392 of the Civil Procedure Code and is triggered when the c