041-NLR-NLR-V-43-UKKURALA-v.-EWONSIA.pdf
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HEARNE J.—Ukkurala v. Ewonsia.
1941Present: Heame J.
UKKURALA v. EWONSIA.170—C. R. Kegalla, 14,045.
Kandyan law—Kandyan dies unmarried and issueless—Survived by motherand halfbrother-Mother’s inheritance to paraveni property.
Where a Kandyan dies unmarried and issueless, his father beingdead and his'mother alive, with no full brothers or sisters and'only ahalf brother surviving,—
Held, that the mother succeeded to the paraveni property of thedeceased.
^^PPEAL from a judgment of the Commissioner of Requests, Kegalla.
E. B. Wickremanayake, for defendant, appellant.
E. A. P. Wijeyeratne, for plaintiff, respondent.
Cur. adv. vult.
December 9, 1951. Hearne J.—
It is unnecessary to refer to the facts in the case under appeal, for itsdetermination depended upon a question of law which can be stated very
SOERTSZ J.—Veerasmgham v. Meenatchy.
167
shortly. When a Kandyan dies unmarried, intestate and without issue,his father being dead, Ids mother alive, with no full brothers and sistersand only a brother of half blood surviving, on whom does his paternal,paraveni property devolve ? The answer is his mother.
In Punchirala v. Dingiri Menika1 Lawrie J. after quoting from NitiNighandiewa and referring to Armour and the judgment of the Judicial.Commissioner in 1824, said: “ these lay down that the mother is soleheiress to her, child, who had survived his or her father, and died withoutissue, and left neither full brother nor full sister; but if the deceasedchild left a full brother or sister, that brother or sister will be entitledto the deceased’s share of his or her paternal paraveni land in preferenceto the mother ”.
A difficulty in the way of the learned Judge was a passage in Saxver’sDigest to the effect that a mother had only a qualified life-interest in herdeceased child’s property. He expressed the opinion that Sawer must betaken to have been dealing with a mother’s rights when her deceasedchild had left full brothers and sisters. Dias A.C.J. concurred in thejudgment and in Ukkuhamy V. Bala Etena' Wendt J. said that he hadno hesitation in accepting “the authority of Sir Archibald Lawrie”.The law on this subject must be regarded as settled.
The appeal is dismissed with costs.
Appeal dismissed.