B.A. Piyasena vs Rupasinghe Arachchige Don Ananda Kumara – 831/99F-2014

In the case between B.A. Piyasena (Defendant-Appellant) and the substituted parties of the late Rupasinghe Arachchige Don Ananda Kumara Rupasinghe, including Welikala Lalitha and others (Plaintiff-Respondents), as well as several Defendant-Respondents, the court addressed whether the prior order abating the appeal for non-appearance and non-representation of the Appellant was erroneous (“per incuriam”) and whether adequate grounds existed for setting aside that order and relisting the appeal. It was held that, in the absence of affidavits or credible evidence substantiating claims of proper compliance and excusable absence, the original order abating the appeal stood valid. The legal principle reaffirmed is that procedural defaults unsupported by proof cannot ground the setting aside of a