Hon. Attorney General v. Premadasa Nilantha Jayakody – CA PHC APN 136/16-2020

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Petitioner) and Premadasa Nilantha Jayakody (Accused-Respondent), the court addressed whether the sentence imposed by the High Court of Kandy for the offence of rape, involving a child under eleven years, was illegal and inadequate. It was held that, despite the existence of judicial discretion to impose a sentence less than the statutory minimum in exceptional circumstances, such a departure was not justified given the extreme aggravating factors — the victim’s young age, the close familial relationship, the breach of trust, and the resulting psychological harm. The statutory minimum sentence set out in Section 364(2) of the Penal Code and Section 303(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act was emphasized. The suspended sentence