H.M. Karunapala and Chandra Dissanayake vs. Mohan R.A. Ratwatte – CA PHC/109/2003-2003

In the case between H.M. Karunapala and others (Respondent-Appellants) and Mohan R.A. Ratwatte (Petitioner-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of entitlement to possession of a disputed land under Section 68 of the Primary Courts Procedure Act No. 44 of 1979. It was held that the Magistrate’s findings on possession, based on affidavits and documentary evidence, were sound and that the High Court erred in remitting the case for a fresh inquiry on the ground that Section 68(3) was not properly addressed. The court reaffirmed that Section 68(3) only applies where forcible dispossession occurred within two months prior to the information being filed and that a determination could be made without oral inquiry where documentary evidence is sufficient. The decision relied on statutory inte