Ulpagoda Pathiraarachchige Prince Neranjan Karunanayake vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/0082/084/23 -2024

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General and the accused-appellants (three individuals indicted in the High Court of Tangalle), the court addressed the issue of whether the sentencing for the appellants, convicted of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 297 of the Penal Code, had been properly reasoned and applied. It was held that the sentence initially imposed by the High Court Judge was excessive due to inadequate reasoning regarding the relevant exception and the applicable limb under section 297. The appellate court, applying careful statutory interpretation and relevant case law, determined the sentence should fall under the 2nd limb of section 297 and reduced the period of rigorous imprisonment from 15 years to 10 years, leaving fines and default sentences un