Dharmasena v. Alles and Others – sllr 1985 volume 2 page 035

In the case between Dharmasena and Alles and Others, the court addressed whether a defendant may invoke the prescriptive title of a third party, specifically the father of the 1st defendant, under section 3 of the Prescription Ordinance to defeat the plaintiff’s claim for declaration of title. The findings established that only parties to an action, or those who derive their title through a party, may raise a prescriptive title as a defense, and the title of a person not party to the suit cannot be invoked to defeat the plaintiff’s claim. This decision relied on the appropriate construction of section 3 of the Prescription Ordinance and relevant judicial precedent, emphasizing that declaratory relief is limited to the legal rights of the parties actually before the court.

G. P. S. De Silv