Muthumalage Wijeratne alias Beeri Kalu Ayya vs The Attorney General – CA HCC/0086/21-2024

In the case between the Attorney General and Muthumalage Wijeratne alias Beeri Kalu Ayya, the court addressed the sufficiency and reliability of evidence, particularly the testimony of a minor with limited education, in establishing the date and place of grave sexual abuse beyond a reasonable doubt. It was held that imprecise recollection of dates and minor discrepancies in the victim’s account did not materially affect the accused’s ability to mount a defense nor undermine the fundamental evidentiary standards required in criminal proceedings. The principle reaffirmed was that the prosecution’s burden is to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt, regardless of a witness’s intellectual capacity or educational limitations. Reliance was placed on judicial precedents including Rex v. Dossi an