Attorney General v. Ranmuthudewage Susantha Dhammika Rathnayake et al. – APN 43/2015-2016

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General and Ranmuthudewage Susantha Dhammika Rathnayake and others, the court addressed the issue of whether the prosecution may call as a witness at trial an individual who was not examined at the non-summary inquiry before the Magistrate’s Court, but whose name appears in the indictment’s witness list. It was held that there exists no legal bar to calling such a witness, provided the accused has adequate notice and a fair opportunity for cross-examination, thereby reaffirming the principle that the purpose of a non-summary inquiry is to determine whether there is a prima facie case, not to try the issue of guilt. The decision relied on Sections 148, 162, and 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code and the precedent set in The King v. Aron Appuhamy, emphas