Kinippuli Arachchilage Don Gunapala alias Kade Mama vs Hon. Attorney General – 219/12-2015

In the case between Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Plaintiff), and Kinippuli Arachchilage Don Gunapala alias Kade Mama, Accused-Appellant (Defendant), the court addressed the issue of whether the conviction for grave sexual abuse under section 365(b) 2(b) of the Penal Code could be sustained on the basis of uncorroborated testimony from the victim. It was held that the conviction was unsafe due to contradictions in the victim’s evidence, lack of medical corroboration, and the failure to account for the victim’s mental state. The principle reaffirmed is that serious criminal convictions require robust, reliable evidence and that uncorroborated testimony, particularly when undermined by other facts, may not suffice. Reliance was placed on the evaluation of