Kuda Banda vs. Kaluwadewayalage linadasa, Ogodapola, Pihimbuwa – CA 256/1997-1997

The case between H. M. Kuda Banda (Plaintiff-Respondent) and K.S. Rathnasiri (Substituted-Defendant/Appellant) addressed the issue of the validity of a District Court judgment delivered after the plaintiff’s death in a partition suit. It was held that the District Court’s judgment was void due to the absence of a living party before the court at the time of judgment, affirming the principle that proceedings cannot be sustained without a proper party in existence. The decision relied upon relevant statutory provisions under the Partition Act and referenced established case law, emphasizing that judgments rendered in the absence of a necessary party are nullities, and the record must be corrected before further proceedings can continue.

Anil Gooneratne J. — It was established that the judg