PULLENAYAGAM v. FERNANDO

C. R., Chilaw, 489.

Action rei vindicatio-Burial ground-Locus religions-Dedication by owner, when presumed.

Where, in an action rei vindicatio, it was proved that the plot of ground in question had been fenced of! and used for burial purposes for more than twenty years without any objection on the part of the plaintiff's predecessors in title, held, that this was sufficient to raise the presumption of dedication to the public and to constitute the plot a res religiosa, and that therefore the conveyance in favour of the plaintiff did not pass any title to him.

IN this action plaintiff prayed for a declaration of title as against the defendants, in that they had taken forcible and unlawful possession of a portion of a certain land belonging to him. The defendants pleaded that' they and other villagers of Marawila had used the said land as a burial ground for several generations. The Commissioner found, after evidence taken and considered, that the portion in question had always been jungle and waste; that it had been used by the villagers for more than ten years as a burial ground; and that the plaintiff had shown