Athukoralage Mary Nona Mahena v. Jayapala Athukorala et al. – SC APPEAL 100/2016-2016

In the case between Millawage Samarasinghe Wickramaarachchi (Plaintiff-Appellant) and Jayapala Athukorala, Chandrasiri Athukorala, and Kulapala Athukorala (Defendant-Respondents), the court addressed the issue of ownership and exclusive rights over a disputed road described in a partition plan. It was held that the Defendant-Respondents, as owners of the dominant tenement (Lot 4), were entitled to use the disputed road (Lot 5) based on necessity, rejecting the Plaintiff-Appellant’s claim of exclusive ownership. This decision reaffirmed the legal principle that a right of way of necessity arises when access is otherwise unavailable, and that such rights can override claims of exclusive title where required for reasonable enjoyment of property. Reliance was placed on established precedent co