Karunadasa and Others v. Attorney General – sllr 1985 volume 2 page 022

In the case between Karunadasa and Others and the Attorney General, the court addressed whether a trial judge may unilaterally accept a plea from an accused once a jury trial has commenced. It was held that, following the commencement of a jury trial and empanelment of the jury, any plea or verdict must be returned by the jury, not by the trial judge alone. The court reaffirmed the principle that the jury’s role as arbiters of fact cannot be displaced once properly constituted under the Criminal Procedure Code Act. The decision relied on sections 230 and 232 of the Criminal Procedure Code and relevant precedent, clarifying that a deviation from this procedure renders the trial defective and requires a new trial to be conducted in accordance with the law.

Siva Selliah J. — The findings es