Mamangam Parimalarajah Vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN 137/2011-2011

In the case between Mamangam Parimalarajah (Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General and Attorney General’s Department (Respondent), the court addressed the sufficiency of evidence to warrant the accused’s trial being fixed in his absence under Section 241 of the Criminal Procedure Code. It was held that the evidence relied upon—a statement made by a Gramasewaka and relayed through a warrant-executing officer—was not legally admissible to establish abscondence, thereby rendering the High Court’s order fundamentally flawed. All subsequent proceedings, including the conviction and death sentence, were set aside, and a rehearing was ordered. This determination reaffirmed the principle that judicial orders significantly affecting an accused’s rights require a foundation of properly admitted le