Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Katugastota vs Rupassara Gedara Gunawansa – CA PHC NO: 22/2017-2022

In the case between Rupassara Gedara Gunawansa (Appellant) and Mallawage Thushara Peiris (1st Respondent-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of entitlement to possession of premises No. 359, Navayalatenne, Katugastota under Section 68(1) and (3) of the Primary Courts’ Procedure Act No. 44 of 1979. It was held that the Magistrate and High Court erred in failing to resolve who was in actual possession at the statutory relevant time and consequently erred in refusing to issue an order regarding possession. The principle reaffirmed is that, under Section 68 of the Act, courts are mandated to decide the question of actual possession or recent dispossession within two months prior to information being filed, regardless of parallel civil proceedings. The decision was grounded in evaluation