Nayani Manohari Balasuriya & Hubert Balasuriya vs Ramanayake Arachchilage Lakshman Ramanayake & Others – CA NO. 109/2000 F-2013

In the case between Nayani Manohari Balasuriya (Minor), Hubert Balasuriya (Next Friend), and Ramanayake Arachchilage Lakshman Ramanayake, Ramanayake Sarthchandra Ramanayake, and others, the court addressed the issue of whether Sujatha Thilakarathne, having married in ‘diga’ under Kandyan law, was entitled to inherit her father’s immovable property. It was held that a woman married in ‘diga’ forfeits her right to paternal inheritance, and that subsequent conduct could not revive such rights, reaffirming the principle that rights of succession are determined by the nature of the marriage at the time of marriage and cannot be altered by post-marital conduct. This decision relied on Section 28(1) of the Kandyan Marriage and Divorce Act, Section 9(1) of the Kandyan Law (Declaration and Amendmen