Hettiarachchige Weerasekara vs. Danthasinghe Patabendige Shanthi Anoma – SC APPEAL 49/2014-2024

In the case between Hettiarachchige Weerasekara and Danthasinghe Patabendige Shanthi (Anoma) and others, the court addressed the issue of whether a contested Deed of Transfer represented an outright transfer of property or merely functioned as a mortgage, along with procedural questions concerning the substitution of parties following the death of a co-defendant. The court held that procedural technicalities, such as the failure to substitute a deceased defendant, do not justify abatement where remaining parties have adequately presented the defense, thereby upholding that substantial justice cannot be defeated by procedural lapses. The holding reaffirmed the principle that the merits of a dispute should prevail where no real prejudice to parties’ rights is shown, relying on precedents and