Hon. Attorney General vs Herath Mudiyanselage Pushpa Kumara alias ‘Pushpe’ – CA 273/2014-2017

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General and Herath Mudiyanselage Pushpa Kumara alias ‘Pushpe’ and Pulingu Hewa Dewayalage Karunathileke alias ‘Karu’, the court addressed the issue of whether the accused were properly identified and lawfully convicted of house trespass and robbery. It was held that the identification evidence was unreliable due to inadequate lighting at the scene and a significant delay in conducting the identification parade, which undermined the fairness and reliability of identification. Furthermore, the framing of the second charge was found to be defective under Section 173 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The decision reaffirmed the principle that identification parades must be conducted promptly to ensure the probative value of identification evidence, as pre