Dematamulla Gamage Prasan Vs. Hon Attorney General – CA HC/182/2013-2013

In the case between Dematamulla Gamage Prasan and the Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed the legality of the High Court’s procedure in conducting a joint trial by amalgamating two indictments involving statutory rape and grave sexual abuse, with the same accused and victim. It was held that the trial judge’s action of combining indictments and delivering a single judgment with two sentences for distinct offenses constituted a procedural irregularity not permitted under the Criminal Procedure Code or the Judicature Act. The holding reaffirmed the principle that indictments must be tried separately unless otherwise authorized by statute, emphasizing the necessity for adherence to statutory trial procedures. This decision relied on the Criminal Procedure Code and the Judicature Act, w