Sumanadasa v. Edmund – sllr 1981 volume 1 page 147

In the case between the plaintiff (respondent), a landlord, and the defendant (appellant) tenant regarding premises at No. 285/9, Ward Place, Colombo, the court considered whether oral evidence may supplement criminal conviction records to establish that the premises had been used for an illegal purpose. The central legal issues were the scope of section 22(1)(d) of the Rent Act, No. 7 of 1972, and the evidentiary limitations of section 91 of the Evidence Ordinance, specifically in the context of substantiating claims of unlawful use of leased premises. The findings established that oral evidence is admissible in conjunction with criminal records to show a nexus between illegal acts and the tenancy, rejecting the tenant’s assertion that reliance must be limited strictly to the particulars