Kodippilige Seetha v. Saravanathan and Others – sllr 1986 volume 2 page 228

In the case between Kodippilige Seetha and Saravanathan and others, the court addressed the issue of whether the corpus (Ananda Sunil, the petitioner’s husband) was unlawfully taken into custody by the Officer-in-Charge of the Kotahena Police Station. The application raised questions regarding the burden and standard of proof in habeas corpus proceedings, given the adversarial nature of the inquiry. It was held that, due to significant credibility issues and unreliable evidence presented by both sides—particularly the retraction of affidavits by key witnesses—the petitioner failed to establish unlawful detention beyond reasonable doubt. This decision reaffirmed the principle that in habeas corpus matters serious allegations must be proven to a high standard, drawing upon established case a