Lellupitiyagama Ethige Roslin Hemalatha vs. Ihalahewage Don Lionel Ranasinghe – SC APPEAL NO. 47/2020-2023

In the case between Lellupitiyagama Ethige Roslin Hemalatha (Plaintiff) and Ihalahewage Don Lionel Ranasinghe, Jagath Investment (Private) Limited, and Koruwage Lalith Fernando (Defendants), the court addressed whether Deed No. 4158 executed by the Plaintiff was an outright conveyance or operated, in law, as a mortgage giving rise to a constructive trust in favor of the Plaintiff. It was held that, based on circumstances such as continuous possession by the Plaintiff, gross inadequacy of consideration, and absence of a genuine intention to grant full beneficial ownership, the transaction was to be treated as creating a constructive trust rather than an absolute transfer. The court reaffirmed the rule that the terms and purpose of a deed may be overridden by extrinsic evidence establishing