Lionair (Private) Limited vs Ceylinco Leasing Corporation Limited – SC CHC APPEAL NO. 43/2010-2013

In the case between Ceylinco Leasing Corporation Limited and Lionair (Private) Limited, the Supreme Court addressed whether Ceylinco Leasing had established on a balance of probabilities that 12 separate sums advanced to Lionair constituted bona fide loans, notwithstanding the use of promissory notes as security. It was held that the evidence, comprising promissory notes, letters of demand, and witness testimony, sufficiently proved the existence and enforceability of loan contracts under Roman-Dutch law, the Bills of Exchange Ordinance, and relevant common-law principles. The decision reaffirmed that documentary evidence supported by corroborative testimony meets the evidentiary threshold for proving valid loan transactions, and that mere challenge to the sufficiency of promissory notes d