Pelawaththa Hettige Ranjith Kumara vs. Pelawaththa Hettige Duinona – CA 40/98-2013

In the matter between Pelawaththa Hettige Kumatheris (substituted by Pelawaththa Hettige Ranjith Kumara, 6th Defendant-Appellant) and Pelawaththa Hettige Duinona, P. Wickramarachchi, and Wickramarachchi Chandrasena (Substituted Plaintiff-Respondents), the Court considered whether Odanis was a child of Dines, the admitted original owner of the land, thereby entitling the 6th Defendant-Appellant to a greater share in the property. It was held that the only substantial evidence produced for Odanis’s paternity was a deed of transfer and oral testimony from the appellant, both insufficient to displace the plaintiff’s more credible evidence and established pedigree. The principles of estoppel and reliability of trial judge findings were reaffirmed, drawing support from established legal standard