Kandoluwe Sumangala V. Mapitigama Dharma-Rakitta

 

Present: Mr. Justice Wood Renton and Mr. Justice Grenier.

 

KANDOLUWE SUMANGALA v. MAPITIGAMA

DHARMARAKITTA et al.

 

D.  C.,  Colombo, 23,308.

 

In the  Matter  of an Application  of Mapitigama Buddha Rakkhita  for a Rule Nisi on Tibbotuwawe  Siddhartha Sumangala, Maha Nayaka, and two others, for Contempt of Court.

 

Contempt of Court-Inherent jurisdiction-Characterizing evidence given by a witness as false pending an appeal-Attempt to interfere with the course of justice-Exercise, of ecclesiastical jurisdiction- Apology.

 

To publish in a newspaper that the evidence given by certain witnesses in a case pending in appeal was " suppressive of truth and   upholding   falsehood "   amounts   to   a   contempt   of- Court.

 

    THIS   was   an   application   calling   on   the   respondents   to   show cause   why   they   should   not  be   punished   for   contempt   of Court.    The  facts  on  which  the  application  was   based   are  stated in the following affidavit of the applicant: -

 

" I, Mapitigama Buddha Rakkhita, of the Kelani Vihare, in Kelaniya, not being a Christian, do solemnly, sincerely, and truly affirm, declare, and say as follows: -

 

" 1. I am a Buddhist priest and the second defendant in the above-styled action, No. 23,308, of the District Court of Colombo.

 

" 2. The first respondent is also a Buddhist priest and the Maha Nayaka or Chief High Priest of Malwatte Vihare in Kandy; the second respondent is the editor, and the third respondent is the printer and publisher of the Sinhalese newspaper ' Sarasavi Sandaresa, ' which has its office at No. 61, Maliban street, Colombo.

 

" 3. That plaintiff in the said action sued me and the first defendant, claiming to be a joint incumbent of the Kelani Vihare, and for the recovery of the sum of Rs. 2,843.75, being income and emoluments thereof.

 

" 4. The plaintiff claimed the aforesaid right as one of the pupils of Dompe Buddha Rakkhita, who was till his death in January, 1903, joint incumbent with the first defendant of the Kelani Vihare.

 

" 5. I am a senior pupil of the said Dompe Buddha Rakkhita, and upon the death of the latter, I, as such senior pupil, succeeded to the rights, powers, and position of Dompe Buddha Rakkhita, to the exclusion of the plaintiff, who also claimed to be his senior pupil. The right of the first defendant to continue as a joint incumbent was not disputed.

 

            " 6. The  plaintiff  and  the  third  defendant  above  named,   who  also claimed to be a pupil of Dompe Buddha Rakkhita in the year 1903, made a joint complaint to the Maha Sangha Sabha, or the Board of Priests, at Malwatte Vihare in Kandy, and certain proceedings, No.  128, were had regarding our rival claims.

 

" 7. The Chief High Priest Tibbotuwawe Siddhartha Sumangala, first respondent above named, to the exclusion of the ' Annuwijjaka ' or judge appointed by the said Maha Sangha Sabha, as President of the said Board, gave a decision declaring the plaintiff and the third defendant to be pupils of Dompe Buddha Rakkhita, and as such entitled to be joint incumbents with the first defendant, and rejected my claims.

 

" 8. The proceedings were tainted with illegalities and irregularities, and I refused to be bound by Sie decision of the first respondent as President of the Maha Sangha Sabha.

 

" 9. The plaintiff thereupon brought the above-styled action in the District Court of Colombo as aforesaid, and, besides producing certain documents in proof of his rights, called amongst others the said Chief High Priest Tibbotuwawe Siddhartha Sumangala, the first respondent, and Hikkaduwe Sumangala, High Priest of Adam's Peak and Principal of the Vidyodaya College, to give evidence in his behalf.

 

" 10. I contested the plaintiff's claim on the ground, amongst others, that I was the senior pupil of Dompe Buddha Rakkhita, and in proo

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