Bank of Ceylon vs General Engineers and Contractors Limited – CA 132/97-2011

The case between Bank of Ceylon and General Engineers and Contractors Limited with Cornel Lionel Perera addressed the issue of whether the Bank of Ceylon was entitled to recover Rs. 300,000/- with interest from the Defendants, or whether the claim was prescribed by statute. It was held that the suit was not time-barred, as the guarantee bond expressly included a waiver of prescription, and the issuance of an acknowledgment of debt in a letter (P8) operated to revive the claim. Principles reaffirmed include the legal effect of an express waiver of prescription in contractual guarantees, and the validity of an acknowledgment of debt in reviving a prescribed claim. The decision relied on relevant statutory provisions related to prescription and precedent validating the enforceability of waive