Yaddahige Chandrarathne Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 18/2022-2025

In the matter of Yaddahige Chandrarathne Vs. The Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed an appeal against a sentencing order for convictions related to a 2008 road traffic accident, involving charges of causing death (Section 298 Penal Code) and causing hurt (Section 328 Penal Code). The court held that while the convictions stood, the original custodial sentence was unduly harsh given the appellant’s age, health, first-time offender status, and remorse. The sentence was varied by substituting the 5-year rigorous imprisonment terms for death charges with 6 months rigorous imprisonment each (consecutive), suspended for 5 years, and increasing compensation for the deceased’s next of kin to Rs. 1,100,000 each, with a default term of 2 years rigorous imprisonment each (consecutive) if unpa