[FULL BENCH.]

1916 Present: Shaw A.C.J., De Sampayo J., and Schneider A.J.

HEENHAMI v. MOHOTIHAMI.

336-D. C. Ratnapura, 2,640.

Co-owners-Action by one co-owner against another for declaration of title and damages-Are all co-owners necessary parties to action ? Civil Procedure Code, ss. 17, 18, and 22.

There is no rule of law that a co-owner cannot maintain an action against another co-owner without joining all the other co-owners of the land.

No doubt in many cases they are proper parties, and would be joined on an application being made for the purpose. In some cases they may even be parties, whose presence before the Court may be necessary in order to enable the Court to effectually and completely adjudicate upon all the questions involved in the action, in which case the Court may add them of its own motion under section 18, but if they are not added, the Court should, in accordance with the provisions of section 17, deal with the matter in controversy so far as regards the rights of the parties actually before it."

THE facts are set out in the judgment.

R. L. Pereira (with him P. M. Jayewardene), for appellant.-The rule is we