Somawathie v. Mangalika – sllr 2001 volume 3 page 008

In SOMAWATHIE (Plaintiff-Respondent) v. MANGALIKA (Defendant/Petitioner-Appellant), the court addressed whether, under Section 22(1)(d) of the Rent Act, the conviction of a tenant for using premises for illegal or immoral purposes automatically terminates the tenancy or whether a separate notice of termination is required. It was held that a conviction under this statutory provision operates to ipso facto terminate the tenancy without further notice, reaffirming the interpretation that statutory mandate prevails over common law notice requirements. The decision relied on the specific language of Section 22(1)(d) of the Rent Act and aligned with precedents such as K. T. H. Pieris v. M. D. Fernando and D. Thangiah v. M. Yoonus, establishing that conviction is sufficient and no further notice