Vithanage Dona Sreema Sarani Swarnalatha Perera & Violet Gunawickrema vs. Kamalawathie Munasinghe, W.D. Padmasiri, and Sithy Raleena Siddique – SC APPEAL 53/2016-2021

In the case between Vithanage Dona Sreema Sarani Swarnalatha Perera and Violet Gunawickrema (“Dimuthu”) (Plaintiffs) and Kamalawathie Munasinghe alias M.A. Kamalawathie, W.D. Padmasiri alias Hemasiri Perera, and Sithy Raleena Siddique (Defendants), the court addressed whether an action brought by adult Plaintiffs and alleged minor beneficiaries was maintainable, given that the adult Plaintiffs’ cause of action was prescribed and the minors were not properly named or represented as required by the Civil Procedure Code. It was held that in the absence of properly named minors and formal appointment of a next friend, the Plaintiffs lacked standing to sustain the action for the minors. The holding reaffirmed the principle that statutory requirements for representation of minors are mandatory f