Hettige Rasike Chulankumara Jayawardena vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0333/2018-2022

In the case between The Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent) and Hettige Rasike Chulankumara Jayawardena also known as Raale Mama (Accused-Appellant), the court addressed the legal issue concerning the lawfulness and scope of judicial discretion in sentencing for statutory rape under Section 364(2)(e) of the Penal Code, as amended. It was held that while statutory minimum sentences are prescribed for such offences, judicial discretion remains where circumstances justify modification of the sentence, provided the statutory minimum is observed. The court reaffirmed the principle that mitigating factors and individual circumstances may appropriately influence the extent of custodial sentences above the statutory threshold. Guidance from prior decisions and sentencing statutes were r