Kankanam Arachchige Premadasa vs Republic of Sri Lanka – CA APPEAL NO. 49/09-2013

In the case between Kankanam Arachchige Premadasa alias Kamkanam Arachchige Premadasa (Accused-Appellant) and the Republic of Sri Lanka (Respondent), the court addressed whether the accused-appellant’s guilty plea should be set aside due to an alleged lack of consent and whether the imposed sentence was excessive. It was held that the accused-appellant failed to challenge the voluntariness of the plea at the trial stage or request withdrawal of the plea in the original court. Admissibility of affidavits contradicting judicial records was denied, anchored in the principle that court records and judicial acts are presumed correct unless properly discredited in the original court. The conviction was affirmed; however, considering mitigating factors, the sentence was reduced from five to three