Ginthota Polwatththe Don Janith Susantha Weerasooriya v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA 68/2009-2017

The case between Ginthota Polwatththe Don Janith Susantha Weerasooriya (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent, representing the State) addressed whether the conviction and death sentence of the 1st Accused-Appellant for murder, pursuant to Section 296 of the Penal Code, was justified. The central issues included the reliability and sufficiency of sole eyewitness identification, the adequacy of judicial direction regarding such identification (with reference to the Turnbull Principles), the materiality of alleged contradictions and omissions in witness testimony, the necessity of establishing motive, and the overall fairness of the trial. It was held that the conviction was properly secured, with the Court reaffirming the principle that identification by a