Athukorala Kankanamlage Susantha alias Chuti and others Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0305 – 0306/2018-2022

In The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Hon. Attorney General) v. Athukorala Kankanamlage Susantha alias Chuti and Hewa Balagathuge Sajee Sanjeewa, the court addressed the issue of whether the High Court Judge erred in fact or law by relying on dying declarations, hearsay evidence, irregular adoption of depositions, improper conclusions regarding recovery under section 27, and by potentially shifting the burden of proof onto the accused. It was held that the impugned dying declarations were admissible and reliable, identification procedures and section 27 recoveries were properly addressed, and the convictions for murder were sufficiently supported by evidence. The principle reaffirmed is that credible dying declarations and uncontroverted identifications, when corroborated by m