Sepala Francis Perera v. Hon. The Attorney General – CA WRIT/410/2020-2020

In the case between Sepala Francis Perera (Petitioner) and the Hon. The Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Respondent), the court addressed whether an indictment for Grave Sexual Abuse was invalid due to insufficient specification of the time and date of the alleged offence, as required by Section 165 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979. It was held that the indictment need not specify an exact date, provided the particulars of “time” are furnished and no real prejudice to the accused is demonstrated. The principle reaffirmed is that unless such omissions result in material prejudice or the timing is of the essence, such defects are insufficient to quash an indictment. Reliance was placed on the relevant statutory provisions and prior case law, h