Ranepura Hewage Kusumawathi vs Bartleet Finance PLC – SC APPEAL 121/2016-2019

In the case between Ranepura Hewage Kusumawathi (Plaintiff-Respondent) and Bartleet Finance PLC (Defendant-Petitioner-Appellant), the court addressed whether the procedural handling of an amended plaint—specifically, accepting the amended plaint and immediately fixing the case for ex-parte trial without affording the Defendant-Petitioner an opportunity to file an answer—constituted a fundamental breach of natural justice and of Section 84 of the Civil Procedure Code. It was held that such a sequence of events rendered the ex-parte judgment and subsequent affirming appellate order invalid, as the Defendant-Petitioner was deprived of the statutory right to be heard. The decision reaffirmed the principle that upon acceptance of an amended plaint, the defendant is entitled to a reasonable oppo