Samarasinghe v. Samarasinghe – SLR – sllr 1989 volume 2 page 180

In the case between the plaintiff-respondent (husband) and the defendant-petitioner (wife), the court addressed the issue of whether claims concerning the forfeiture of benefits, including dowry and related matrimonial property issues, could be raised by a party in an action for divorce or judicial separation. It was held that such claims could not be entertained within the proceedings in question, particularly in the absence of a counterclaim for divorce or separation by the defendant. This holding reaffirmed the principle that claims for forfeiture based on matrimonial fault must follow a procedural framework that presupposes a finding of fault and the granting of divorce or judicial separation. The decision relied on sections 615(1) and 618 of the Civil Procedure Code, alongside relevan