R.D.Aranolis and R.D.Gunadasa vs Attorney-General – CA APPEAL NO.165-166/11-2013

In the case between the Attorney-General and R.D. Aranolis with R.D. Gunadasa, the court addressed the propriety of convicting the accused-appellants for murder given the facts established at trial, and whether an alternative conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to grave and sudden provocation ought to have been considered, even though this defence was not expressly advanced. The holding determined that the original convictions for murder and sentences of death could not be sustained in light of the established grave and sudden provocation. The principle reaffirmed was that a trial judge must consider any possible defences arising from the evidence, regardless of whether those defences are raised by the accused. This decision was informed by prior legal precedent an