Hettigoda Gamage Gnanawathi vs Hettigoda Gamage Sugathadasa and others – S.C. Appeal No: 44/2020-2025

In the matter of Hettigoda Gamage Sugathadasa and Hettigoda Gamage Gunadasa (plaintiffs) and Hettigoda Gamage Gnanawathi (defendant), the court addressed the issue of partition actions concerning only a portion of a land and the duty of a court to investigate title. The court held that a partition action cannot be maintained for only a portion of a land and that a trial judge’s duty to investigate title is confined to pleadings and evidence, not a ‘voyage of discovery.’ This decision reaffirmed the principle that plaintiffs must establish the identity and title of the entire land and all parties in a partition action. The court found that the plaintiffs had suppressed the defendant’s prior title and that the High Court erred in its judgment. The Supreme Court set aside the High Court’s jud