Handun Harsha Prabath De Silva vs. Seylan Bank PLC – SC [SPL] LA NO.147/15-2016

In the case between Handun Harsha Prabath De Silva (Plaintiff) and Seylan Bank PLC (Defendant), the court addressed whether an interim order under Rule 42 of the Supreme Court Rules is valid in the absence of a court decree, particularly regarding the auction of mortgaged property under the Recovery of Loans by Banks (Special Provisions) Act. It was held that Rule 42 can be purposively interpreted to allow an interim order even when a statutory decree is not present, due to the legislative gap in challenging auction proceedings. The decision reaffirmed the principle that remedial judicial measures must be available to protect substantive property rights when statutory interpretation supports such an approach. Reliance was placed on authorities including Maxwell on the Interpretation of Sta