Hemachandra Adikarilage Thennakoon Banda vs The Attorney General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka – CA 147/2014-2017

In Attorney General v. Hemachandra Adikarilage Thennakoon Banda alias Hello, the court examined whether the conviction and death sentence imposed on the accused based exclusively on circumstantial evidence satisfied the legal requirement of proof beyond reasonable doubt. The events surrounded the killing of Wanninayaka Thennakoon Mudiyanselage Bandula Nawaratne, with prosecution relying on circumstantial links such as alleged motive, forensic material, and claimed admissions. Absence of direct eyewitnesses and the evidentiary inconsistencies were scrutinized. The court held that the standard for conviction on circumstantial evidence—requiring the exclusion of every reasonable hypothesis of innocence—had not been met. The acquittal was based on long-standing legal principles including those