Wickremanayake V. The Times Of Ceylon, Limited

1937   Present : Maartensz and Koch JJ.

WICKREMANAYAKE v. THE TIMES OF CEYLON,
LIMITED.

224-D. C. Colombo, 5,005.

Defamation-Measure of damages-Proof of special damage unnecessary- Roman-Dutch law.

Where, in an action for defamation, the words used by the defendant are prima facie actionable it is not necessary to give proof of special damage.

Plaintiff may recover a verdict for damages without giving evidence of actual pecuniary loss.

APPEAL from a judgment of the District Judge of Colombo.

Hayley, K.C. (with him N. E. Weerasooria and E. B. Wickramanayake), for the appellant.

H. V. Perera, K.C. (with him N. Nadarajah), for the respondents.

Cur. adv. vult.

November 17, 1937. MAARTENSZ J.-

This is an action for the recovery of a sum of Rs. 20,000 as damages sustained by the plaintiff by reason of a libellous paragraph being published concerning him in the issue of the newspaper known as the Times of Ceylon, dated January 24, 1936.

The defendants who are the proprietors and editor-in-chief respectively of the newspaper in question admitted the publication of the paragraph and that it was libellous, but denie

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