Dhanapala Hewavitharana and another vs Amarasinghe Aratchige Gardies Appu – CALA 2/2006-2012

The case between Dhanapala Hewavitharana and another, and Amarasinghe Aratchige Gardies Appu, Samawathie Ramawickrama and others, addressed the issue of whether the District Court possessed inherent power under section 839 of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC) to entertain a petition to vacate a writ of execution for eviction, or whether the petitioners, having undertaken and failed to vacate the premises, were required to proceed under the explicit provisions of section 328 of the CPC. It was held that relief cannot be granted by way of inherent power when a specific remedy exists under the statute, reaffirming the principle that statutory remedies prescribed by the CPC must be followed, and inherent jurisdiction cannot be invoked to circumvent established procedure. The decision relied upon