R.W. Rupasinghe Amarabandu vs Hon. Attorney General – 99/2012-2014

In the case between R.W. Rupasinghe Amarabandu (Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo (Respondent), the court addressed the procedural compliance of Section 195(ee) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Amendment Act No. 11 of 1988, specifically whether the High Court inquired if the accused wished to be tried by a jury, which is a mandatory step. It was held that the omission of this inquiry constituted non-compliance with a fundamental procedural safeguard, resulting in the quashing of the conviction and sentence and the ordering of a retrial. This decision reinforces the principle that mandatory statutory procedures cannot be dispensed with during criminal proceedings. The judgment relied upon statutory requirements under the relevant Code, emphasi