Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC vs Kumarasinghe Ranjith Rajakaruna and Albert Nadaraja Manoharan – SC APPEAL NO. 193/2015-2021

In the case between Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka PLC and Kumarasinghe Ranjith Rajakaruna, the court addressed whether the refusal by the High Court to abate the action under Section 402 of the Civil Procedure Code was justified in circumstances where there had been delay by the Plaintiff in prosecuting the action. It was held that the High Court’s exercise of discretion in declining to abate the action was appropriate, as the Plaintiff had taken explicit procedural steps to prosecute the matter following the delay. The principle reaffirmed is that abatement under Section 402 is discretionary rather than automatic, requiring an assessment of actions taken by the parties. This decision relied on the interpretation of Section 402 of the Civil Procedure Code and stressed that delays alone do not