P.R.Nandana Pushpakumara v. The Hon. Attorney General – 240/2013-2013

In the case between P.R.Nandana Pushpakumara (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed the correctness of the conviction and death sentence imposed for the alleged murder of S.P.G. Cyril (alias Raja). It was held that the conviction was unsafe due to misdirection in the evaluation of circumstantial evidence, particularly the “last seen” theory and the failure to establish the exact time of death. The principle reaffirmed is that in cases reliant solely on circumstantial evidence, the burden lies on the prosecution to eliminate reasonable doubt and to establish with precision all critical facts linking the accused to the offence. This decision relied on established precedents regarding circumstantial evidence, underscoring that a conviction requires