Kottage Lalith Gunarathna v. Attorney General – CA APPEAL NO.112/2005-2005

In the case between Kottage Lalith Gunarathna and the Attorney General, the court addressed the issue of whether the conviction of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as opposed to murder, was justified, and whether exceptions such as the right of private defence or a sudden fight applied. It was held that neither exception was supported by the evidence, and the testimonies, especially of the main eyewitness, were found reliable. The principle reaffirmed was that conviction may be sustained on the testimony of a sole credible witness and that use of a deadly weapon against an unarmed person precludes the sudden fight exception. Reliance was placed on established authority and precedents concerning the sufficiency of single witness testimony and judicial obligations in criminal adjud