The Officer in Charge vs Rev. Mampita Hemaloka Thero – CA PHC 168/2012-2022

In the matter between Officer in Charge, Police Station, Warakapola (Plaintiff/Complainant) and Rev. Mampita Hemaloka Thero, Sri Bodi Rukkaramaya Piriwena (1st Party/Respondent) and Dissanayake Rallage Nihal Chandrasiri Dissanayake (2nd Party/Appellant), the court addressed the lawful entitlement of villagers to a disputed roadway adjacent to temple property, considering whether the route was of public or private character and if servitudanal rights could be extinguished by non-use. The holding established that a right of way or public road is not lost by mere non-use but requires clear abandonment, and that the right to use the road in question had been substantiated through longstanding use and public maintenance, pursuant to statutory law and legal precedent in Sri Lanka. The appellate