Paradeniyalage Gunapala vs Paradeniyalage Jayaneris et al. – SC APPEAL NO. 153/2010-2010

In the case between Paradeniyalage Gunapala (Plaintiff-Appellant) and, among others, Paradeniyalage Jayaneris and Hewayalage Jayantha Wimalasiri (Defendant-Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the lower courts erred in law by failing to require reasons for the rejection of certain deeds related to the Plaintiff’s claimed pedigree and whether the prescriptive rights asserted by the 5th Defendant–Respondent were correctly upheld. It was held that the Plaintiff failed to prove his entitlement to the land due to insufficient evidence of title, while the 5th Defendant–Respondent established an unbroken pedigree and prescriptive rights to the property. This decision reaffirmed the principle that claims to land must be substantiated by credible, historical evidence and that long