Galgodage Sarath Wijesiri Alapatha vs Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka – CA/HCC/028/2021-2025

The case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Plaintiff-Respondent) and Galgodage Sarath Wijesiri Alapatha, Rathnapura (Accused-Appellant) addressed the issue of whether the trial court erred in its evaluation of inconsistent witness evidence and the application of the mandatory minimum sentence for charges of abduction and rape of a minor. The holding determined that the prosecution failed to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt due to serious inconsistencies and lack of corroborative physical evidence, resulting in the acquittal of the accused. This decision reaffirmed the principle that a conviction cannot be sustained where the prosecution’s case is marred by material discrepancies and fails the test of probability. Reliance was placed on established evidentiary stand