Ahangama Vithanage Mala Mangalika Abayagunasekera vs Hewa Pedige Sumithra Malkanthi and others – SC Appeal 126/2015-2025

In the matter of Ahangama Vithanage Mala Mangalika Abayagunasekera and Hewa Pedige Sumithra Malkanthi et al., the court addressed the validity of a deed of transfer and the applicability of Laesio Enormis. The court held that the deed of transfer (No. 1449) was an outright sale and not a mortgage, and that the claim of Laesio Enormis was prescribed and not available against a subsequent bona fide purchaser. This decision relied on Section 92 of the Evidence Ordinance and Section 10 of the Prescription Ordinance, reaffirming the principle that oral evidence cannot contradict written instruments and that equitable remedies have prescription periods. The court found that the lower courts erred in their determination of the deed’s nature and the application of Laesio Enormis, leading to the se