Damme Arachchige Gamini v. Damme Arachchige Saman Karunaratne – CA PHC NO. 112/2005-2005

In the case between Damme Arachchige Gamini (Party of the 2nd Part; Petitioner-Appellant) and Damme Arachchige Saman Karunaratne (Party of the 1st Part; Respondent-Respondent) and Officer-in-Charge, Minor Complaints, Ratnapura Police Station, the court addressed the issue of rightful possession of, and mining rights over, disputed land, specifically under Section 66(1)(a) of the Primary Court Procedure Act No. 44 of 1979. It was held that the lower courts correctly determined that the 1st Party-Respondent was in possession and that the 2nd Party-Petitioner-Appellant had forcibly entered and commenced mining operations, thereby justifying the intervention under Section 66. The principle affirmed is that actual possession or dispossession within the statutory period, adequately substantiated