Vidanalage Dingiri Banda vs. Henaka Ralalage Punchi Banda – SC APPEAL NO. 198/2012-2021

In the case between Vidanalage Dingiri Banda (deceased, substituted by Vithanalage Senathileke and several co-plaintiffs) and multiple defendants including co-owners and successors, the court addressed the validity of pedigree evidence relating to Siyathuhamy’s parentage and the establishment of prescription among co-owners in a partition dispute over the land known as Narangahamulahena and Kalahugahamulahena. The findings established that the appellants failed to substantiate Siyathuhamy’s descent from Menik Ethana through documentary or direct evidence, and further determined that uninterrupted long possession did not amount to an ouster sufficient to displace co-ownership. The judgment reaffirmed the legal principle that, in the absence of clear evidence of adverse possession, possessio