1951 Present: Dias S.P.J. and Gunasekara J.

SUDU BANDA, Appellant, and PUNCHIRALA, Respondent

S. C. 323-D. C. Badullu 8,969

Injuria-Mediate injury-Defamation of wife-Right of husband to sue.

Under the law of Ceylon a defamatory statement about the honour or chastity of a wife is an injury to the husband and gives him a cause of action. Appuhamy v. Kirihami (1895) 1 N. L .R. 83 distinguished.

APPEAL from a judgment of the District Court, Badulla.

E. B. Wikramanayake, K.C., with N. Kumarasingham, for the plaintiff appellant.

Cyril E. S. Perera, with M. A. M. Hussein, for the defendant respondent.

Cur. adv. vult.

 May 23, 1951. DIAS S.P.J.-

This case raises an important and interesting question of Roman Dutch Law. The defendant is alleged to have stated in a petition addressed to the Education Department that Bandaramenika, who is the married wife of the plaintiff-appellant, was living in terms of illicit intimacy, or was committing adultery with one P. T. M. K. Banda, an assistant teacher in a government school. The lady instituted action against the defendant and recovered damages for the injury caused to her reputation. In the pr