Gamage Don Karunadasa v. Chalosingho alias Charles Pathmaperuma – 600/99 F -1999

In the case between Chalosingho alias Charles Pathmaperuma (Plaintiff-Respondent) and Gamage Don Karunadasa (3A Defendant-Appellant), alongside other parties, the court addressed whether the District Court of Avissawella possessed the legal authority under the Partition Act and Civil Procedure Code to set aside an interlocutory judgment and decree dated 17 August 1988 and conduct a fresh trial years later. It was held that the District Court, being a statutory creation, is constrained to powers expressly conferred by law. The legal principle reaffirmed is that final interlocutory decrees in partition proceedings are conclusive except as modified by statutory exceptions, and that jurisdiction cannot be conferred by party consent where it does not exist under statute. The decision relied on