Karunawathie and 2 Others v. Gunadasa – sllr 1996 volume 2 page 406

In the case between Karunawathie and 2 others (Plaintiffs) and Gunadasa (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether long-standing, exclusive, and adverse possession by one co-owner could operate as an ouster to extinguish the rights of other co-owners in a partition action. It was held that overwhelming evidence of exclusive possession and appropriation of the land’s income by the 4th Defendant-Appellant since 1955 precluded the Plaintiffs from asserting co-ownership rights based only on paper title. The holding reaffirmed the principle that ouster and adverse possession, when clearly established by acts excluding other co-owners, can effectively extinguish their rights. The decision relied on legal precedents such as Corea v. Iseris Appuhamy and Subramaniam v. Sivaraja, emphasiz