Jayaratne Banda v. Attorney General – sllr 1997 volume 3 page 210

The case between Jayaratne Banda (Plaintiff) and the Attorney General (Defendant) concerned whether an error in the indictment, specifically relating to the date of the Gazette notification of the relevant Emergency Regulation, rendered the charge defective or resulted in a miscarriage of justice. The court determined that the error was curable under relevant procedural statutes and did not mislead the accused or prejudice his defense. The applicability of Emergency Regulation 24(1)67 and the prohibition against retrospective penal legislation were examined, with reliance on constitutional provisions, sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and established case law. It was held that the regulation was effective at the relevant time, the charge was legally sustainable, and a material mi