Anura Kumara Dissanayake is among seven defendants as High Court orders Nagananda Kodituwakku’s Rs. 1 billion case to be recalled.
The Anura Kumara Dissanayake-linked Rs. 1 billion damages case filed by lawyer Nagananda Kodituwakku has been ordered to be recalled after the Western Provincial Civil Appellate High Court set aside an earlier Colombo Additional District Court order rejecting the lawsuit.
The civil action had been filed by Nagananda Kodituwakku seeking Rs. 1 billion, or Rs. 100 crore, in damages from seven defendants, including the leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and current President, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The decision was delivered by a two-judge bench of the Civil Appellate High Court comprising Justices Chinthaka Srinath Gunasekara and H.S. Ponnampremum.
Accordingly, the High Court ordered that the original case records be sent immediately to the Colombo District Court and that the case be recalled for trial.
During the proceedings, it was submitted on behalf of the plaintiff, Nagananda Kodituwakku, that during the 2019 presidential election campaign, he was involved in a powerful political movement, and that the defendants acted with the intention of defaming him because his campaign posed a threat to other political parties.
According to the complaint, acting under the direction of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, named as the 7th defendant, the 1st defendant, Osala Herath, had allegedly issued malicious statements on social media, including Facebook, labelling the plaintiff a fraudster and a thief.
The plaintiff further stated that he suffered serious harm when the defendants allegedly attempted to have his British citizenship revoked, prevented its revocation, accused him of misappropriating election funds, and filed complaints with the Election Commission and the police claiming that he had misled expatriate Sri Lankans and attempted to collect between Rs. 600 million and Rs. 750 million.
The complaint also stated that the 1st and 6th defendants had pressured him to support the presidential election campaign of Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
Claiming Rs. 1 billion in damages for the alleged defamation caused to his reputation through these actions, Nagananda Kodituwakku filed case number DMR 1300/21 in the Colombo District Court, seeking compensation jointly and severally from the defendants.
After preliminary objections were raised by the defendants, the Additional District Judge of Colombo, on May 31, 2023, rejected the plaintiff’s complaint under Section 46(2) of the Civil Procedure Code.
The District Court cited several reasons for rejecting the complaint. One reason was that the plaint did not state a specific date on which the cause of action arose. Under Section 9 of the Prescription Ordinance, a damages action of this nature must be filed within two years from the date the cause of action arises.
The District Court also held that, among the various alleged malicious acts said to have been committed by the defendants, it was unclear which specific act formed the cause of action and what contribution each defendant had made.
Against that District Court order, Nagananda Kodituwakku filed an appeal before the Civil Appellate High Court under case number WP/HCCA/COL/02/2024 (F).
After extensively considering the appeal, the High Court bench concluded that the District Court’s decision was erroneous. In his judgment, High Court Justice Chinthaka Srinath Gunasekara noted that once a District Court had accepted a plaint in a damages case and issued summons to the defendants, it was not justifiable to reject the plaint at such a preliminary stage.
The High Court further pointed out that the issue of prescription is a complex question involving both law and facts, and that it cannot be determined at the preliminary stage merely by examining the plaint. It said the matter should be decided after considering the defendants’ objections and evaluating evidence.
The High Court also emphasized that Sections 46(2)(g) to (k) of the Civil Procedure Code clearly specify the grounds on which a plaint may be rejected, and that the reasons given by the Additional District Judge did not conform to those provisions.
Accordingly, the Civil Appellate High Court decided to completely set aside the order dated May 31, 2023, by which the Additional District Judge had rejected the case.
The defendants named in the case are:
- Osala Herath
- Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
- Tilvin Silva, General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
- K.D. Lalkantha, Administrative Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
- Bimal Rathnayake, National Organiser of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
- Isuru U.D. Subasinghe, Member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
- Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, the party located at Pelawatte, Battaramulla
In the appeal, plaintiff Nagananda Kodituwakku was represented by lawyer Darshana Weraduwage. The 2nd to 7th defendants, including the JVP and Anura Kumara Dissanayake, were represented by lawyer Thusitha Wijekoon.
The 1st defendant, Osala Herath, was represented by a team including lawyer Ranga Dayananda on the instructions of lawyer Niluk S. Welgama.
With this judgment, the Rs. 1 billion damages case is now scheduled to be reheard from the beginning before the Colombo District Court.
