Bengamuwa Dhammaloka Thero v. Dr. Cyril Anton Balasuriya – SC APPEAL NO. 9/2002-2010

In the case between Bengamuwa Dhammaloka Thero, Chief Priest of Sri Sudharmaramaya, Henegama, Akuressa (Plaintiff-Respondent/Respondent-Appellant), and Dr. Cyril Anton Balasuriya of Colombo 06 (Petitioner-Petitioner/Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether a petitioner under Section 328 of the Civil Procedure Code may invoke the Court of Appeal’s revisionary jurisdiction, despite the availability of an alternative remedy under Section 329, in circumstances involving procedural irregularities. The findings established that the existence of an alternative statutory remedy does not preclude the exercise of the Court’s inherent revisionary powers to remedy manifest injustice, particularly when an ex-parte decree had been entered without valid service of summons on a deceased defen