Karunaratne v. Alwis – sllr 2007 volume 1 page 214

In the case between the defendant-petitioner and the plaintiff-respondent, the court addressed the interpretation of “the day first fixed for trial” under sections 93(1) and 93(2) of the Civil Procedure Code concerning amendments to pleadings. It was held that amendments made to the plaint before the actual commencement of the trial fall within the discretionary power conferred by section 93(1). The principle reaffirmed is that judicial discretion to permit amendments to pleadings applies up to the actual beginning of the trial, not merely the first date fixed. Reliance was placed on judicial precedents such as Ceylon Insurance Company v Nanayakkara and Siripura Hewawasam Pushpa v Leelawathie Bandaranayake. The court emphasized that failure to permit such amendments, absent the commencemen