H Winnie Fernando vs V.P Malalasekara – CA 769 A AND 769 B/1996 F-2011

In the case between V.P. Malalasekara (Plaintiff-Respondent) and H. Winnie Fernando, K.G. Sunil (10th and 11th Defendant-Appellants) along with A.M. Wijeratna and others, the court addressed the determination of title in a partition action concerning the lands Appukutiyawatta and Parangiyawatta. It was decided that the 10th and 11th defendants failed to establish prescriptive acquisition of title, as their continued occupation was determined to be permissive and not adverse. The court reaffirmed the principle that permissive or licensed occupation does not give rise to prescriptive title against rightful owners. This outcome was based on the Partition Law No. 17 of 1997 and assessment of prior rei-vindicatio proceedings, highlighting that minor boundary discrepancies and long-standing perm