Omar Hatha Mohamed Kurshid vs Officer-in-charge, Police Station, Kekirawa – CA PHC: 67/2007-2018

In the case between Omar Hatha Mohamed Kurshid (Appellant) and the Officer-in-charge, Police Station, Kekirawa, and others (Respondents), the court addressed whether a registered owner of a vehicle may prevent confiscation of the vehicle—used in the illegal transportation of cattle—by proving on a balance of probabilities that all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent the offence, and that the act occurred without the owner’s knowledge. The court determined that the Appellant failed to meet this legal standard, clarifying that the owner bears the burden of proof to establish both lack of knowledge and the taking of all preventive measures, as guided by the precedent in Mary Matilda Silva v. I.P. Habarana and relevant statutes under the Animals Act. The decision reaffirms that mere r