Wickramasinghe Mudiyanselage Sirisena Kithulampitiya vs Weligama Palliya Guruge Nandawathie – CA 354/96-2011

In the matter of Wickramasinghe Mudiyanselage Sirisena (Plaintiff) v. Weligama Palliya Guruge Nandawathie, Weligama Palliya Guruge Piyadasa, and others (Defendants), the court examined whether an appeal lies as of right under Section 754(1) of the Civil Procedure Code against a District Court order refusing an application under Section 48(4) of the Partition Act, or whether such refusal is classified as an “order,” thereby limiting appeal rights to those granted with leave under Section 754(2) of the Code. It was held that such a refusal constitutes an “order,” not a “judgment.” The underlying legal principle affirmed that the finality required for a “judgment” must pertain to the suit as a whole, not simply to an interlocutory application within the suit. Reliance was placed on Ranjith v.