Pathirana Wasam Don Priyantha alias Sandun vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0084/2022-2024

In the case between Pathirana Wasam Don Priyantha alias Sandun (Accused-Appellant) and The Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt the appellant’s guilt regarding heroin trafficking and whether the trial process ensured procedural fairness. It was held that the conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court of Colombo could not be sustained due to evidentiary flaws, including unlikely circumstances surrounding the substance’s weighing and deficiencies in the prosecution’s proof. The underlying principle reaffirmed was that the burden of proof rests strictly on the prosecution, and the test of probability must not undermine the requirement of proof beyond reasona