Vidanapathiranage Jayanthi vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 0001/19-2021

In the case between Vidanapathiranage Jayanthi (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed whether the trial court correctly considered all evidence and properly directed itself regarding the burden of proof in charges of heroin trafficking and possession under Sections 54A(b) and 54A(d) of the Poisons Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. It was held that serious misdirections occurred at trial, including the failure to give appropriate weight to the defense evidence and a mistaken shifting of the burden of proof to the defense, resulting in the conviction being unsafe in law. This decision reaffirmed the principle that defense and prosecution evidence must be evaluated on an equal footing and that the prosecution bears the burden of proo