Rambukkana Gardiye Gunasekara Arachchige Dona Jayawathi vs Kusumawathi Runge and Pandithage Leelawathi – CA NO.854/2000-2000

In the case between Substituted-Defendant-Appellant 1A Rambukkana Gardiye Gunasekara Arachchige Dona Jayawathi and Plaintiff-Respondents Kusumawathi Runge and Pandithage Leelawathi alias Leelawathi Panditha, the court addressed whether an order requiring the absent Defendant to prepay costs as a pre-condition for participation in trial was valid, and whether the ensuing ex parte judgment upon non-payment—rendered without recorded consent—should be set aside. It was held that both the order and subsequent proceedings were nullities, reaffirming the principle that a court may not bar a party or render judgment against a party for non-payment of costs without recorded consent and must adjudicate a case on its merits. This decision relied on leading authorities, including Mamnoor v. Mohamed, P