Rathnasuriya vs. Attorney General – sllr 2012 volume 2 page 322

In Rathnasuriya (Accused/Appellant) versus the Attorney General, the court examined whether imposing the burden on the accused to counter the prosecution’s case contravened the constitutional presumption of innocence under Article 13(5), and whether a retrial, after approximately ten years given the appellant’s prior incarceration and possible trauma, would be unjust. Following the conviction for murder under Section 296 of the Penal Code and subsequent appeal, the court found that the trial judge’s misdirection concerning the burden of proof fundamentally undermined the conviction. By applying Section 335(2)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the court held that a retrial would not serve the interests of justice and ordered the appeal be allowed, setting aside the conviction and acquit