Director General, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption vs. Imbulana Liyanage Dharmawardana – SC APPEAL 103/2012-2018

In the case between the Director General, Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and Imbulana Liyanage Dharmawardana, the Supreme Court examined whether the failure to produce all marked documents at the appellate stage, particularly those crucial for determining the accused’s assets and income, infringed upon the right of appeal and undermined the validity of the lower court’s conviction. The sequence of events included a conviction at trial, an acquittal by the Court of Appeal on the basis of missing documents, and a Supreme Court review addressing whether reliance on a sole preliminary objection was permissible without assessing the substantive merits. The Supreme Court held that an appellate court must evaluate the substantive issues even where certain documents