Punyamoorthi vs Attorney General – sllr 2019 volume 1 page 171

In the case between Punyamoorthi (Plaintiff) and the Attorney General (Defendant), the court examined whether the deposition of a deceased witness (PW2) was properly admitted under Section 33 of the Evidence Ordinance, focusing on the procedural requirement that the facts deposed must be led in evidence before the trial judge. The findings established that the conviction, based predominantly on circumstantial evidence and the deposition of PW2, was not safe due to the omission of producing the certified non-summary record and failing to satisfy procedural safeguards. Citing statutory mandates and pertinent authorities, it was held that the admission of such evidence without statutory compliance rendered the conviction unsustainable, prompting acquittal and precluding a re-trial in view of