Samarakoon V Samarakoon and Another – sllr 2003 volume 2 page 321

In Samarakoon v Samarakoon and Another, the court addressed whether a marriage certificate issued under the Kandyan Law Ordinance conclusively establishes a “deega” marriage affecting a married daughter’s inheritance rights, and whether a Buddhist priest is entitled to inherit property under Section 23 of the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance. The findings established that such certificates do not definitively prove the form of marriage and that a Buddhist priest may inherit property despite the constraints of Vinaya discipline. The decision was grounded in the interpretation of the Kandyan Law, Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance, and the evidentiary weight of earlier transfer deeds, affirming that statutory provisions permit inheritance by a priest and supporting the District Judge’s decisio