Gnanawathie vs. Dingiri Banda et al. – CA CASE NO:- 763/764/7675/99 F -1999

The case between Ratnayake Mudiyanselage Punchi Banda (Plaintiff-Respondent) and Balachandra Arachchige Dona Gnanawathie, Kultunge Mudiyanselage Dingiri Banda Kulatunga, Heath Mudiyanselage Kapuru Banda (Defendant-Appellants) addressed whether the land subject to partition proceedings was correctly identified as encompassing lots 1–4 of the court survey, or only lot 4 as described in the plaint and title deeds. Determination was given that the identification of the land by the trial court and surveyor did not correspond with boundaries and extent specified in the plaintiff’s pleadings and documentary title, and that the statutory duty of the court in partition actions to ensure accurate identification of the corpus was not discharged. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that a court must