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Supreme Court saves mother from ungrateful daughter
Colombo, Feb. 10 (Daily Mirror) - The Supreme Court has delivered its ruling in a decades-long legal dispute between a mother and her daughter, holding that a donor mother has the right to revoke property gifted to her daughter on the grounds of gross ingratitude.
The case originated in the District Court of Gampaha, where the mother filed action against her daughter and the daughter’s minor son seeking to set aside a deed of gift by which she had transferred her property to her daughter, subject to her life interest. The mother stated that after receiving the property, the daughter transferred it to her minor son by another deed without reserving the donor mother’s life interest, instead reserving life interests for herself and her husband.
Following the trial, the District Court ruled in favour of the mother, holding that the transfer was not a dotal (dowry) gift and that the daughter had been guilty of gross ingratitude.
However, the High Court of Civil Appeal of Gampaha later reversed that decision and dismissed the mother’s action, determining that the property had been given as a dotal gift, which could not be revoked on grounds of gross ingratitude unless the right of revocation had been expressly reserved. Aggrieved by this ruling, the mother appealed to the Supreme Court.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Janak de Silva, Mahinda Samayawardhena and Menaka Wijesundera, held that the property had been conveyed as an ordinary gift and not as a dotal gift, as the marriage had not taken place in consideration of or in exchange for the property.
In his observations, Justice Mahinda Samayawardhena noted that the execution of a deed transferring the gifted property without reserving the donor mother’s life interest and without informing her, coupled with the daughter’s assertion that the property no longer belonged to the mother, threats of death, persistent verbal abuse and prolonged neglect of her aged and vulnerable parents, including an incapacitated sister, demonstrated a sustained pattern of hostility and disregard towards the donor.
Rohan Sahabandu, P.C., with Chathurika Elivitgala and Sachini Senanayake appeared for the Plaintiff-Respondent-Appellant. Counsel Ashiq Hassim with Sudharshani Cooray appeared for the Defendant-Appellant-Respondents.
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