Soysa vs Soysa – clr volume 2 page 015

In Soysa v. Soysa, the dispute was between Soysa (Plaintiff) and Soysa (Defendant), addressing whether a decree for costs included in a substantive decree for land and ejectment qualifies as a “sum awarded” under sections 298 and 299 of the Civil Procedure Code, so as to permit execution against the person of the judgment debtor. The holding determined that only decrees purely for costs, where the sum awarded exceeds Rs. 200, could justify writs against the person; incidental costs in a substantive relief decree do not fulfill this requirement. The principle reaffirmed is that execution against the person requires strict statutory compliance and does not extend to cases where costs are merely incidental to a substantive decree. The decision relied on the wording and structure of sections 2