Somawardena v. Saranelis Singho and Meepalage Clarency Perera – sllr 1997 volume 2 page 152

In SOMAWARDENA v. SARANELIS SINGHO, the Court addressed the evidentiary standards applicable in agrarian disputes under the Agricultural Services Act, specifically concerning entries in the Paddy Lands Register/Agricultural Lands Register and the rebuttal of such documentary entries by oral evidence. It was determined that documentary entries, while prima facie proof of cultivator rights, may be rebutted by cogent and convincing oral evidence, applying judicial tests including consistency, credibility, means of knowledge, and probability. The case further clarified the interpretation of “ande cultivator” under section 68 in cases involving joint employment of hired agricultural labor. The findings established reliance on both direct and circumstantial evidence, with the Court affirming the