Herath Mudiyanselage Kalubandage Ukkubanda v. Kariapperuma Mudiyanselage Kapurubandarage Herathbanda – CA 293/99-1999

The case between Herath Mudiyanselage Kalubandage Ukkubanda (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Kariapperuma Mudiyanselage Kapurubandarage Herathbanda (Defendant-Respondent) addressed the issue of whether the plaintiff-appellant possessed valid title to the disputed land at the time of instituting the action and was thereby entitled to a declaration of title. The court held that the plaintiff-appellant did not establish title at the relevant time and was not entitled to the declaration sought, reaffirming the principle that title must vest in the claimant at the commencement of the proceedings. This decision relied on authorities such as Silva v. Hendrik Appu (1 NLR 13), Ponnamma v. Weerasooriya (11 NLR 217), Kattu Bawa v. Shanmugam (54 NLR 467), as well as clarifications from Periya Karuppan Chetti