Gnanawathie Abeysinghe and Ruvini Sandamali Abeysinghe vs. D. A. Yahampath and others – SC LA APPEAL NO. 70/2016-2016

In the case between Gnanawathie Abeysinghe and Ruvini Sandamali Abeysinghe (Plaintiffs) and the substituted 1st Defendant and the 2nd Defendant, the court addressed the issue of whether the 2nd Defendant should be deemed a sub-tenant under the Rent Act of 1972, based on evidence regarding possession, rent payments, and alleged unauthorized structural alterations and subletting. It was held that the Plaintiffs had discharged the evidentiary burden to prove sub-tenancy, and the High Court decision was set aside in favor of affirming the original District Judge’s ruling. The principle reaffirmed was that, where authentic documentation and credible evidence demonstrate the existence of a sub-tenancy, the legal and evidentiary burdens shift accordingly. This outcome relied on precedents such as