Delkadura Danapala Mudiyanselage Sarathchandra Bandara vs Omanthage Malkanthi Fernando – SC APPEAL 83/2013-2024

In the case between Malkanthi Fernando and co. (Substituted Plaintiffs) and Delkadura Danapala Mudiyanselage Sarathchandra Bandara (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether a possessory action could be maintained where the plaintiffs had been disturbed in their possession rather than physically dispossessed. It was held that disturbance of possession, as interpreted through Section 4 of the Prescription Ordinance and Roman-Dutch legal principles, is sufficient to establish dispossession for the purposes of such a remedy. The decision reaffirmed the principle that legal protection of possession extends to disturbances falling short of actual ouster, relying on statutory and case law that broadens the remedial scope under Sri Lankan law. This reasoning clarified that constructive