Wickramasinghe Arachchige Ran Banda Vs. Iroshan Eranga Prasad Wickramasinghe – CA/LTA/441/2005-2022

In the case between Iroshan Eranga Prasad Wickramasinghe and Wickramasinghe Arachchige Ran Banda, the court addressed whether the 10th Defendant-Petitioner—who was absent at trial purportedly due to illness and for whom no proxy or attorney appeared—was entitled to have a settlement judgment and interlocutory decree set aside, and for proceedings to recommence under Section 48(4) of the Partition Act. It was held that the absence of a formal proxy or attorney was not fatal to the right of the 10th Defendant-Petitioner to seek relief, especially given the binding nature of partition judgments (in rem) and the need to resolve doubts in the interest of justice. The decision established that procedural lapses should not override substantive justice in partition suits. Leave to appeal was grant