Illandari Devage Jayathilake vs Illandari Devage Karunawathie and Batepolage Dayaratne – SC APPEAL 131/2011-2023

In the case between Illandari Devage Jayathilake (Plaintiff-Appellant-Petitioner) and Illandari Devage Karunawathie and Batepolage Dayaratne (Defendants-Respondents), the court addressed whether a prescriptive right-of-way (servitude) had been acquired by the respondents over the appellant’s land under the Prescription Ordinance and Roman Dutch Law. It was held that mere use, such as casual walking, does not meet the legal standard of adverse use required to establish prescriptive rights. The principle reaffirmed is that the statutory requirement of adverse, continuous, and uninterrupted use must be strictly satisfied to acquire prescription. This decision relied on section 3 of the Prescription Ordinance and relevant case law, emphasizing that prescriptive claims must be substantiated by