Leelaratne Dassanayake vs Nicholas Marcus Fernando – CA NO. 1193/96-2011

In the case between Leelaratne Dassanayake (Plaintiff) and Nicholas Marcus Fernando, Archbishop of Colombo, and Father Merle Mendis (Defendants), the court addressed the issue of whether either party held valid title to a disputed parcel of land. It was held that the Archbishop of Colombo, as the 1st defendant, had established an unbroken chain of title to the property dating back to 1888, thereby entitling him to a declaration of title. The principle reaffirmed was that clear documentary evidence demonstrating an unbroken chain of title is determinative in adjudicating ownership disputes. The judgment relied on the analysis of historic deeds and the sufficiency of documentary proof, underscoring that a party with a substantiated and continuous title must succeed in an action for declarati