G.M. Chaminda Bandara v. The Attorney General – CA CASE NO. 263/2012-2012

In the case between G.M. Chaminda Bandara (Appellant) and The Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether non-compliance with section 48 of the Judicature Act regarding the formal adoption of proceedings by a succeeding judge in the High Court of Batticaloa required the conviction and death sentence to be set aside and the matter remitted for retrial. It was held that formal adoption of previous proceedings by a successor judge is not a strict legal requirement under the Judicature Act, and such proceedings may continue unless an objection is raised by a party. The holding reaffirmed the principle that procedural formalities, when not mandated, do not automatically vitiate proceedings, especially in the absence of speci