Hatton National Bank Ltd. v. M.S.Hebtulabhoy & Co. Limited and Others – sllr 2011 volume 1 page 328

In the case between Hatton National Bank Ltd. (later substituted plaintiff Bank acting for the original plaintiff) and M.S. Hebtulabhoi & Co. Limited and others, the court addressed the issue of whether a defect in a proxy filed by the original plaintiff could be cured after the substitution of the plaintiff when objections to the proxy were raised belatedly. It was held that such defects may be cured if objections are not raised at the earliest available opportunity, reaffirming the principle that jurisdictional challenges concerning procedural defects must be taken promptly. The decision was guided by appellate authorities (including Udeshi v. Mather, Paul Coir (Pvt.) Ltd. v. Waas, Pinto v. Trelleborg Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd., and S.P. Gunathilaka v. Sunil Ekanayake), emphasizing that late obje