Karunadasa v. Officer In Charge, Motor Traffic Division Police Station, Nittambuwa – sllr 1987 volume 1 page 155

In the case between Karunadasa (the appellant) and the Officer-in-Charge, Motor Traffic Division, Police Station, Nittambuwa, the court addressed the issue of whether criminal negligence under Section 298 of the Penal Code had been established beyond reasonable doubt and whether the Magistrate’s judgment met the standards of reasoned decision-making required by Section 283(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. It was held that the prosecution failed to prove criminal negligence of the requisite degree, as the evidence—particularly regarding the speed of the vehicle and surrounding circumstances—was insufficient to establish guilt to the strict standard required for a criminal conviction. The judgment reaffirmed the legal principle that criminal negligence involves a very high threshold