Wimalasenage Jayawathi v. Hon. Attorney General & Officer in Charge – CA PHC APN 160/2017-2017

In the case between Wimalasenage Jayawathi (Petitioner and registered owner of the confiscated lorry) and the Hon. Attorney General with the Officer in Charge, Police Station, Eppawala (Respondents), the court examined whether the Petitioner, as vehicle owner, had proved that all necessary steps or precautions were taken to prevent the vehicle’s involvement in transporting timber illegally under the Forest Ordinance. It was held that the Petitioner failed to discharge the burden of proving every endeavour was made to prevent misuse, leading to dismissal of the application. The principle reaffirmed was that general or cursory preventive instructions are inadequate; demonstrable, active measures must be provided, and exceptional circumstances must exist to warrant revisionary intervention by