Yakgaha Hewage Karunapala vs Dayawathi Amaratunga – CA CASE NO. 266/98-2013

In the case between Yakgaha Hewage Karunapala (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Dayawathi Amaratunga (now deceased, substituted by Weerabahu Amaratunga) along with others (Defendants-Respondents), the court addressed the procedural issue of whether an appeal is valid when the notice of appeal is signed by the appellant’s registered attorney, but the Petition of Appeal is filed personally by the appellant without revocation of the attorney’s proxy. It was held that this procedural irregularity rendered the appeal defective. The principle that an appeal must be properly instituted through the registered attorney unless the proxy is revoked was reaffirmed. The decision relied on the rules governing civil procedure for appeals, emphasizing that strict compliance with procedural requirements is essenti