Palliyaguruge Gnanawathie vs Pothupitiyage Demond Silva – CA APPEAL NO.932/98 F -2014

In Palliyaguruge Gnanawathie (Plaintiff-Appellant/Respondent) v. Pothupitiyage Demond Silva (Original Defendant, deceased, now substituted by Palluwa Arachchige Sumanalatha and others), the court addressed the issue of entitlement to Lot 8, Plan No.617, considering both the plaintiff’s claim by title deeds and the defendant’s claim by prescriptive title under adverse possession. It was held that the defendant and his successors had established prescriptive title to the land through adverse, uninterrupted, and exclusive possession exceeding the statutory period. This determination reaffirmed the principle that documentary and testimonial evidence of long-term possession outweighs mere title without possession, as articulated under Section 3 of the Prescription Ordinance. The holding emphasi