Meragal Pedi Durayalage Daya vs Munasinghe Arachchige Nishantha – 765/97 F -2017

In the case between Munasinghe Arachchige Nishantha Pushpakumara (plaintiff-respondent) and Meragal Pedi Durayalage Daya (defendant-appellant), the court addressed whether a plaintiff holding a grant under Section 19(4) of the Land Development Ordinance is entitled to a declaration of title, ejectment of the defendant, and damages, and whether the defendant could claim prescriptive title based on long possession and allegations of fraud. The holding established the plaintiff’s entitlement to title and dismissal of the defendant’s prescriptive claim due to statutory prohibition against the acquisition of prescriptive title under Section 161 of the Ordinance. The principle reaffirmed is that statutory bar precludes prescriptive title claims for lands alienated by permit, and acts of public a