Ampagoda Liyanage Vijitha Mahindasena vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA 163/2015-2015

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Attorney General) and Ampagoda Liyanage Vijitha Mahindasena, the court addressed whether the accused-appellant was rightly convicted of murder under Section 296 of the Penal Code following the killing of Wickramasinghe Arachchilage Thilakaratne. The court held that the conviction and death sentence imposed on the accused could not be sustained due to material discrepancies and omissions in prosecution evidence, inadequate consideration of the accused’s alibi, and the premature determination of guilt by the trial judge prior to addressing the defence case. It was reaffirmed that the presumption of innocence remains paramount, and guilt must be established beyond reasonable doubt, as required by law. The decision relied on c