Warahena Liyanage Prmathilake vs Weerasekara Mudiyanselage Sumanadasa – CA PHC/200/2006-2017

In the case between The Officer In Charge, Police Station, Uragasmanhandiya (Appellant) and Warahena Liyanage Prmathilake and Weerasekara Mudiyanselage Sumanadasa (Respondents), the court addressed whether the Respondent, Weerasekara Mudiyanselage Sumanadasa, was entitled to utilize a 5-foot wide right of way strictly as a footpath or if access extended to include passage for three wheelers (motor vehicles). It was held that the right of way granted as a footpath did not confer the right to drive motor vehicles such as three wheelers along it, reaffirming the principle that a legal right to a footpath is distinct from a right to a motorable route. The decision relied on legal precedents and statutory interpretation clarifying the limits of easements over land. The key takeaway established