Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayasiri vs Hon. Attorney General – SC APPEAL 73/2015-2018

In the case between The Hon. Attorney-General, representing the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Respondent) and Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Jayasiri (Accused-Appellant-Petitioner), the court addressed whether misdirection regarding the dock statement and the erroneous application of the proviso to Section 334 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act by the Court of Appeal warranted the setting aside of a conviction for murder or its reduction to culpable homicide. It was held that although there was minor misdirection in the trial judge’s evaluation of the dock statement and a misapplication of the proviso on appeal, these did not result in a substantial miscarriage of justice and provided no lawful basis for reduction or reversal. The principle reaffirmed was that curative statutor