NAVARATNE

VS.

KAMALAWATHIE

SUPREME COURT
DE ABREW, J.
DEHIDENIYA, J.
AMARASEKARA, J.
SC/APPEAL/68/2015
SC/SPL/LA/240/2014
CA/APPEAL/335/99/F
DC MAHO 3664/L
JULY 5, 2020

Debt Conciliation Ordinance, No. 39 of 1941, sections 32(2) and 39(2)-Effect of the certificate issued under section 32(2)

Held :

1. What can be proved by tendering a certificate issued in terms of section 32(2) of the Debt Conciliation Ordinance is that the application before the Debt Conciliation Board was dismissed and the Board was of the view that the suggested settlement was fair and the creditor ought reasonably to have accepted it. Such opinion of the Board cannot prove a cause of action before a court of law nor is the court bound by such opinion.

2. The provisions in relation to considering mortgages to be conditional transfers are only for the purposes of the Debt Conciliation Ordinance, namely to effect the settlement of loans.

3. Section 39(2) of the Debt Conciliation Ordinance only gives the court discretion to grant relief as provided by that section in a suitable case notwithstanding that the title to the property is vested in the creditor when the certifica