Prof. Thapani Manel Sulochana Atukorale vs Chandradeepa Shanthapriya Perera Abeysinghe – SC APPEAL 52/2017-2024

In the case between Chandradeepa Shanthapriya Perera Abeysinghe (Plaintiff) and the University of Colombo, Prof. Thilak Hettiarachchi, and Prof. Thapani Manel Sulochana (Defendants), the court addressed whether a plaintiff’s claim for damages, arising from a disciplinary inquiry, properly constituted malicious prosecution or was more appropriately classified under the broader doctrine of injuria. It was held that the disciplinary inquiry did not amount to a judicial proceeding and thus could not support a claim for malicious prosecution. The findings established that the claim fell within the Roman-Dutch law concept of injuria, focusing on alleged negligence and lack of reasonable cause in the initiation of the disciplinary proceedings. The determination reaffirmed the principle that civil