Madara Mahaliyanage Bandusena vs Don Alfred Weerasekera and others – SC APPEAL NO: 172/2017-2024

The case involves a dispute in a complex land partition action pertaining to the allocation and delivery of possession for specific lots. The issues concerned the validity of a transfer executed by Deed No. 679 against the statutory prohibition on alienation pending partition, as well as whether the substitution of rights following the original defendant’s death properly conveyed title and entitlement to possession. The decision clarified that the transfer did not validly confer possession and that statutory provisions of the Partition Law must be strictly followed, requiring that the rights of the deceased be determined in a separate proceeding.

Mahinda Samayawardhena, J. — An extensive judgment was delivered detailing the historical progression of the land partition action and exam