Kulakulasuriya v. Ranmenika – sllr 1990 volume 1 page 331

In the case between Kurukulasuriya (plaintiff-appellant, landlord) and Ranmenika (defendant-respondent, tenant), the court addressed whether rent payments specifically designated for certain months by the tenant, when deposited with a local authority, could be appropriated to cover arrears for months not specified in the deposit. It was held that such payments, having been appropriated by the debtor for particular periods, could not be applied retroactively to earlier outstanding arrears. This reaffirmed the principle that a debtor’s express appropriation, once made, is binding and cannot be altered to benefit the debtor for prior liabilities. The decision applied statutory interpretations under the Rent Act, No. 7 of 1972, and incorporated Roman Dutch Law principles on the appropriation o