Anthony Surendra vs Sri Lankan Airlines – SC CHC/APPEAL 68/2014-2023

Brief
In the case between Anthony Surendra and Sri Lankan Airlines along with Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, the court addressed whether Anthony Surendra’s absence at a hearing—caused by extraordinary traffic congestion due to the ceremonial opening of the Narahenpita Police Station—provided reasonable grounds under Section 87(3) of the Civil Procedure Code to set aside a dismissal order, as opposed to invoking Section 145 for a default. The court held that substantive evidence, including multiple witness accounts and records of the unusual traffic conditions, established sufficient justification for the plaintiff’s absence, thereby upholding that the requirements of Section 87(3) had been met. This determination reaffirmed the principle that excusable absence, when adequately substanti