The Officer in Charge, Police Station, Narammala vs Ranasinghe Arachchige Thilakarathne – CA PHC 95/2016-2021

In the case between Officer in Charge, Police Station, Narammala, and Ranasinghe Arachchige Thilakarathne, the court addressed whether a dispute over the use of a 3-feet-wide strip of land (“Eaves”/“අගුව”) constituted a matter of possession or involved a servitudinal right. It was held that the dispute related to a right of possession governed by Section 68 of the Primary Courts’ Procedure Act, not a servitudinal right under Section 69. This determination reaffirmed that disputes centered on actual control and dispossession of land are to be adjudicated under possession-related statutory provisions. The court emphasized reliance on factual evidence, legal definitions, and the proper application of statutory law, clarifying that interpretation of property disputes follows the nature and his