Prins Gunasekera vs Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. – CA 805/1996-2011

In the case between Prins Gunasekera (plaintiff/appellant) and Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd. (defendant/respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether a newspaper publication on 17 May 1990 was defamatory per se of the plaintiff and whether the plaintiff was entitled to damages, given the defenses raised by the defendant. It was held that the article, considering both its textual content and the accompanying photograph, was clearly defamatory and referable to the plaintiff. The principle was reaffirmed that determining defamation requires an assessment of the words and images in their full context, and that the burden of proof for defenses such as privilege and fair comment rests with the defendant. The decision relied on established common law principles of defamation, clari