Jayanetti Wahumpurage Kamalawathie and others vs Kirihathanalage Pradeep Wasantha Kumara – CA PHC 185/2020-2025

The court addressed an appeal against a Provincial High Court order that reversed a Magistrate’s decision regarding land possession. The Court of Appeal held that its function in such appeals is to examine the correctness, legality, or propriety of the High Court’s exercise of revisionary powers, not to re-evaluate evidence from the primary court. This decision reaffirmed the principle that a Magistrate has a paramount duty under Section 68(1) of the Primary Court’s Procedure Act (PCP Act) to make a definitive and explicit determination of actual possession as of the date information was filed. The appeal was dismissed, emphasizing the importance of proper judicial evaluation at all levels of the court system.

Damith Thotawatte, J. – An appeal against an order from the Provincial High C