Galappaththilage Lesely Priyankara v. Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/413/19-2022

In the case between The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (represented by the Hon. Attorney General) and Galappaththilage Lesely Priyankara, the court addressed the issue of whether the accused-appellant was reliably identified as the perpetrator of rape, grave sexual abuse, and robbery. It was held that the prosecution failed to prove the accused’s identification beyond reasonable doubt, primarily due to inadequacies and inconsistencies in the identification evidence, as well as the absence of corroborative evidence. The principle reaffirmed is that, in criminal prosecutions relying on identification evidence, especially under adverse conditions, courts must apply the Turnbull guidelines rigorously and give the benefit of reasonable doubt to the accused when identification is dou