Rajapaksha Mudiyanselage Pushpakumara Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 222-223/2023-2025

In the matter of Rajapaksha Mudiyanselage Pushpakumara Vs. The Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed the issue of the proper application of legal principles concerning an alibi defence in a murder conviction. The court held that the conviction, judgment, and sentence were set aside, and a retrial was ordered, reaffirming the principle that the burden of proof for an alibi does not rest on the accused, but rather on the prosecution to establish the accused’s presence at the crime scene beyond a reasonable doubt. This decision relied on established precedents and the provisions of Section 296 of the Penal Code, emphasizing that misdirection on the alibi defence and failure to conclusively establish the appellants’ identity beyond a reasonable doubt necessitate the quashing of a convicti