Dunukewalayage Dharmadasa vs Menik Pedige William Marasinghe – 1150/99 F -2015

In the case between Menik Pedige William Marasinghe (Substituted 1A Plaintiff Respondent) and Dunukewalayage Dharmadasa (Substituted 1D Defendant Appellant) concerning the land known as ‘Kotuwe Kumburewatta Goda Mada Idama,’ the issues analyzed were whether the defendant acquired title by prescription and whether a lease agreement barred such a claim. The findings established that the defendant failed to prove adverse and uninterrupted possession for the statutory period and that the lease agreement undermined any assertion of prescriptive rights. The Court relied on the evidence of dealings between the parties and the relevant legal standard for prescriptive title, affirming that a lessee cannot claim adverse possession during a subsisting lease, and the appeal was dismissed. This decisio