Rannaide vs. Wimalasooriya and Others – sllr 2012 volume 1 page 206

In the case between Rannaide (with Jayakody Arachchilage Wijeratne as the substituted plaintiff) and Wimalasooriya and others, the court examined the validity of a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal without knowledge of the death of an appellant and without proper substitution. It was held that such a judgment, pronounced while unaware of a party’s death and in the absence of substitution, constitutes an absolute nullity. The principle reaffirmed that legal proceedings without a valid representative for a deceased party lack efficacy, and judgments so rendered cannot be re-delivered. Reference was made to Section 760A of the Civil Procedure Code and pertinent case law, establishing that the appeal must be re-listed for hearing.

Chandra Ekanayake J. — The findings established that