Ninnali Srimathi Ranasinghe vs Chandralatha Sooriya Arachchi – CA 1240/2000 F -2014

The case between Ninnali (Nirmali) Srimathi Ranasinghe (plaintiff/respondent) and Chandralatha Sooriya Arachchi (defendant/appellant) concerned the validity of the plaintiff’s title to land described in the plaint and the defendant’s claim to retain possession either via constructive trust or a prior conditional re-transfer agreement. The court determined that the plaintiff’s title, derived through purchase from Rohini Perera after the defendant failed to exercise a repurchase right, was valid and superior. It was established that a conditional transfer coupled with a right to re-purchase does not itself create a constructive trust in favor of the transferor. Reliance was placed on the evidence of a valid execution of the plaintiff’s deed and the absence of any legal or equitable bar to he