Varshahanadige Sunil Soysa vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA APPEAL NO.295/2008-2013

In the case between Varshahanadige Sunil Soysa (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the conviction and death sentence for the murder of the appellant’s brother were sustainable in law, particularly in view of the reliability of eyewitness testimony and the sufficiency of the accused’s alibi. It was held that the evidence presented by two principal witnesses—the sister-in-law and mother of both the accused and the deceased—was credible and unshaken, while the defense of alibi was insufficient to create reasonable doubt. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that when cogent, credible direct evidence is adduced by prosecution witnesses, and the alibi fails to raise genuine doubt, an appellate court is not warranted in overtu