Thennakoonge Somarathna v. Thennakoonge Karunadasa – CA PHC 66/2007-2016

In the case between Thennakoonge Somarathna, Gammanaliyanage Dharmadasa, and Gammanaliyanage Somalatha (appellants) and Thennakoonge Karunadasa, Opatha Kankanamge Bandupala, and Gammanaliyanage Chandrasena (respondents), the court addressed whether the Petition of Appeal filed by the appellants complied with the mandatory procedural requirements set out in the Court of Appeal Rules, specifically Rules 2(1)(a) and 14(1). It was determined that the appeal was not properly addressed to the correct court and failed to contain the requisite formal particulars. As a result, the appeal was found to be fatally defective, and the Court’s appellate jurisdiction was not properly invoked. The appeal was dismissed in limine without review on the merits, reaffirming the principle that strict compliance