Iswaran Sathasiwam and others Vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA 178/2013-2013

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12, and Iswaran Sathasiwam and Subramaniam Thillenathan, the court addressed whether the appellants’ conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 297 of the Penal Code should be overturned or whether the sentence should be enhanced. The case examined the prosecution’s failure to call a key eyewitness, the adequacy of evidence relating to the mental element for murder, and the sufficiency of the trial judge’s findings. The court held that there was insufficient mens rea to establish a charge of murder, thereby confirming the trial court’s finding of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and affirming the sentence of seven years’ rigorous imprisonment. The principle reaffirmed