Gamage Ranjani Perera alias Manamala Badige Kulathunga Arachchi Ranjani Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/121/2017-2021

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (prosecuted by the Attorney General) and Gamage Ranjani Perera alias Manamala Badige Kulathunga Arachchi Ranjani, the court considered whether the accused was proved beyond reasonable doubt to have possessed and trafficked 2.4 grams of heroin under Section 54A(b) and (c) of the Poison Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (as amended). It was held that the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt due to significant discrepancies in police testimony, gaps in the chain of custody, and failures in the trial judge’s approach to the burden of proof and the presumption of innocence. The principle reaffirmed is that the prosecution bears the burden of proof in criminal trials, and the accused is entitled to the p