Maswela Gedera Somasiri Bandara vs Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Ashokawathie Menike – CA NO.1155/98-2013

The case between Maswela Gedera Somasiri Bandara (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Ashokawathie Menike (Defendant-Respondent) addressed the issue of entitlement to a decree of divorce on the ground of constructive malicious desertion. It was held that the plaintiff-appellant failed to establish that the defendant-respondent’s conduct, including alleged cruelty and non-disclosure of the true parentage of a child, constituted constructive malicious desertion under Sri Lankan law. The decision reaffirmed the principle that to prove constructive malicious desertion, sufficient evidence must demonstrate an intention on the part of the accused spouse to terminate the marital relationship through deliberate misconduct. This outcome relied on Section 19(2) of the Marriage (Genera