Lakshman Ananda Wijemanne v. Officer-in-Charge, Special Crime Investigation Bureau, Police Superintendent Officer, Kuliyapitiya – CA PHC 162/2016-2022

In the case between Lakshman Ananda Wijemanne (Appellant/Petitioner) and the Officer-in-Charge, Special Crime Investigation Bureau, Police Superintendent, Kuliyapitiya, and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondents), the court addressed whether sufficient legal and factual grounds existed for the addition of the appellant as an accused in a land fraud matter, and whether the refusal to discharge the appellant was justified under the Criminal Procedure Code. It was held that the Magistrate erred by adding the appellant as an accused without recording his statement or conducting a proper investigation, and without sufficient material establishing an offence. The principle reaffirmed requires that criminal charges be founded on substantive investigative material, safeguarding procedural fairness