Kankanamge Budhika Yasantha Kumara Vs Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0091/2019-2023

In the case between Kankanamge Budhika Yasantha Kumara (Accused/Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed whether the circumstantial evidence—particularly the disputed time of death—was sufficient to establish the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt in the alleged murder of his girlfriend. The court held that the totality of evidence, including the chain of events, post-mortem findings, eyewitness testimony, and inconsistencies in the accused’s statements, established the accused’s guilt to the requisite standard. The decision reaffirmed the principle that a conviction may be based on circumstantial evidence if the evidence is consistent only with the accused’s guilt and excludes any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. The court relied on established pr