Nawagamuwalage Dharmasiri Wijayaweera vs Chandra Pushpakanthi Rajapakshe – CA 270/00-2014

In the case between Chandra Pushpakanthi Rajapakshe, Advin Palandage Dhanapala, and others (Plaintiff Respondents) and Nawagamuwalage Kathonis Suraweera, substituted by Nawagamuwalage Dharmasiri Wijayaweera (Defendant Appellant), the court addressed the procedural issue regarding the continuation of an appeal when some plaintiff-respondents had died and no substitution had been effected as required. It was held that failure by the appellant to substitute deceased parties despite multiple opportunities demonstrated a lack of diligent prosecution of the appeal. This reaffirmed the principle that an appeal must be dismissed if procedural requirements regarding substitution of parties are not met, especially when prosecution is not pursued diligently. The decision was grounded in relevant proc