Officer-In-Charge, Police Station Kotahena vs. Dewasinghe and Another – sllr 1983 volume 2 page 149

In the case between Officer‑in‑Charge, Police Station Kotahena (Plaintiff) and Dewasinghe and Another (Defendants), the court examined whether the time limits specified in Sections 66, 67, and 68 of the Primary Courts Procedure Act are to be treated as mandatory or merely directory, and considered the consequences of procedural non‑compliance with section 67(1). The proceedings involved a dispute over possession of land known as “Keera Land,” with procedural delays and subsequent revision applications challenging the primary court’s judgment. It was held that, based on statutory interpretation and the guidance in the Supreme Court’s decision in Ramalingam’s case, the statutory time limits—though couched in mandatory language—are to be read as directory. Accordingly, delays in compliance do