Somawathie v. Simon Perera – sllr 1984 volume 1 page 078

In the case between Somawathie (plaintiff) and Simon Pereira (defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether a dowry gifted property could be recovered by the plaintiff after dissolution of marriage when the plaintiff was found to be the offending spouse under Roman Dutch Law. It was held that the offending spouse forfeits the right to reclaim dowry property upon divorce due to her own fault, reaffirming the principle that fault in marital dissolution precludes recovery of dowry. This decision relied on Roman Dutch Law and authorities such as Fernando v. Fernando and Karunanayake v. Karunanayake, emphasizing that dowry is not recoverable by the spouse at fault, and any action for ejectment should be delayed to mitigate hardship.

G. P. S. DE SILVA J. — The dowry property was given u