Dhammasiri Thero v. Sugatha Thero – sllr 1998 volume 3 page 388

In the matter between the plaintiff-respondent, seeking a declaration of status as Viharadhipathi of a temple, and the defendant, originally a Buddhist priest who was later disrobed, the court addressed the issues of the maintainability of the action following the defendant’s change of status and the procedural propriety concerning substitution and service of process. It was held that failure to decide the substitution application by Hisselle Soratha Thero, after the defendant’s disrobing, constituted a serious procedural defect. The action for a declaration could not properly proceed without a ruling on substitution, and service of an ex parte decree on the defendant in his new capacity as a layman did not satisfy the requirements of the Civil Procedure Code (sections 85(4), 86(2), and 40