Weljakala Withanage Shantha Sri Jayalal and Patti Widanalage Iroshini Mallika vs Angoda Kusumawathie Pigera and Pathirage Ranjith Perera – CA PHC APN 69/2009-2013

In the case between Welikakala Withanage Shantha Sri Jayalal and Patti Widanalage Iroshini Mallika (Appellants) and Angoda Kusumawathie Pigera and Pathirage Ranjith Perera (Respondents), the court addressed whether the High Court Judge of Avissawella erred in refusing to entertain a revision application concerning a Primary Court determination under Section 68 of the Primary Court Procedure Act No 44 of 1979. The court held that an express averment of “exceptional grounds” is not a rigid procedural prerequisite for the entertainment of a revision application, and procedural technicalities such as the absence of the word “swear” in the affidavit’s jurat do not, in themselves, render an affidavit invalid. The principles re-affirmed establish that substantive justice should not be defeated by