L A M B Miyuru Lankathilleke vs. The Attorney General – HCC-0299/2019-2021

In the case between L A M B Miyuru Lankathilleke (Accused-Appellant) and The Attorney General, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Respondent), the Court of Appeal addressed whether the conviction and death sentence of the accused for the murder of Muhandiramalage Sriyalatha could be sustained solely on the basis of circumstantial evidence. It was held that the conviction was justified, as the chain of circumstantial evidence established the accused’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt and excluded all reasonable hypotheses of innocence. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that circumstantial evidence must be assessed collectively and must point irresistibly to the accused’s guilt, consistent with the standards set forth in local and Indian precedent and the Evidence Ordinance. The