Rajapakshe Gedera Susantha Palitha Rajapakshe vs The Hon. Attorney General – 155/2015-2017

In Rajapakshe Gedera Susantha Palitha Rajapakshe v. The Hon. Attorney General, the court examined whether the conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, imposed by the High Court of Kandy under Section 296 of the Penal Code, was legally sustainable. The issues before the court concerned the sufficiency and reliability of the chain of production of evidence, the introduction and handling of a T-shirt and related DNA evidence, and the adequacy of circumstantial evidence when eyewitness testimony was absent. The appellate court determined that the cumulative circumstantial evidence, supported by expert forensic and K9 evidence, established the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. No defect was found in the evidentiary chain or the proceedings at trial. The appellate court