Dandeniya Arachchige Priyantha vs Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/0041/2022-2024

In the case between The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (represented by the Attorney General’s Department) and Dandeniya Arachchige Priyantha, the court addressed whether it is procedurally valid under Section 283(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act for a succeeding judge—who did not hear the original evidence—to deliver a judgment based on evidence adopted from a predecessor, and whether discrepancies in the victim’s testimony regarding the act of sexual abuse affect the establishment of grave sexual abuse under the Penal Code. It was held that the procedural requirements for adoption of evidence by a succeeding judge were met, and the minor inconsistency in the victim’s account did not discredit the charge. The conviction and sentence were upheld, reaffirming that such ju