D. D. Kusumawathie vs K. G. Dharmadasa – CA 666/98-2014

The case between D. D. Kusumawathie (plaintiff) and K. G. Dharmadasa (defendant) addressed the issue of entitlement to the lawful possession of land described in the plaint’s second schedule, forming part of the land in the first schedule. It was determined that the plaintiff’s claim, based on a duly issued government permit, prevailed over the defendant’s claim, which lacked any governmental documentation or permit. The legal reasoning reaffirmed the principle that a government-issued permit constitutes a superior form of title compared to mere possession without statutory authority. Consideration was given to corroborative evidence from a District Secretariat official and the absence of evidentiary deficiencies in the plaintiff’s identification of the land. The court’s decision centered