Weerawardane v. State – sllr 2000 volume 2 page 391

In The State v. Weerawardane, the court examined the legality of accepting a guilty plea for murder during a non-jury trial and the correct application of Sections 205 and 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act. The central issue concerned whether the High Court was justified in accepting such a plea, given statutory requirements for murder charges traditionally necessitate a jury trial and specific safeguards regarding an accused’s understanding of the plea’s consequences. It was determined that the trial judge erred in accepting the plea for murder, failing to adhere to statutory mandates, particularly the proviso to Section 205. Accordingly, the conviction and sentence were set aside, with an order for a fresh trial. The ruling reaffirmed the principle that acceptance of a plea of gu