Dalton Wijeyeratne v. Hermine Wijeyeratne – sllr 1993 volume 1 page 313

In Dalton Wijeyeratne v. Hermine Wijeyeratne, the court considered whether the statutory framework—specifically section 120 of the Evidence Ordinance and sections 121 and 175(1) of the Civil Procedure Code—permits one party in a partition action to compel the opposing party to give evidence. The sequence of events involved the plaintiffs seeking to call defendants as witnesses to establish title in a partition dispute, with the defendants denying the plaintiffs’ rights and claiming sole ownership. The District Judge refused the plaintiffs’ application, determining that the law did not grant a right to compel the other party to testify. On appeal, the Court of Appeal reversed this decision, but on further appeal, the Supreme Court reinstated the District Judge’s order, holding that there wa