Weligamage Nandaseeli Warnasooriya vs Piyaratne Wijeweera – CA NO. 50/97 F -2013

In the case between Weligamage Nandaseeli Warnasooriya (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Piyaratne Wijeweera (Defendant-Respondent), the Court of Appeal considered whether the Plaintiff-Appellant was entitled to recover possession of land from the Defendant-Respondent based on a prior lease agreement and whether the action was barred under the Prescription Ordinance. It was determined that, although the action was not prescribed by Section 10 of the Prescription Ordinance as the cause of action was not based on the lease, the Plaintiff-Appellant failed to establish a right to relief on the balance of probability. The principle established reiterates that, even where a statutory bar does not operate, a plaintiff must still prove the substantive claim to obtain relief. The decision relied on the pro