Salpadoruge Ivan Susantha Perera v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA NO. 122/2013-2015

In Salpadoruge Ivan Susantha Perera v. The Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed whether a conviction and sentence for sexual harassment under s. 345 of the Penal Code could be sustained when the accused was originally charged with statutory rape under s. 364(2)(e) but acquitted on that charge. It was held that convicting and sentencing the accused for sexual harassment, without amending the indictment and affording an opportunity to defend against the alternative charge, constituted a procedural irregularity. This decision reaffirmed the principle that an accused must be given fair notice of the charges and an adequate chance to defend, referencing Sri Lankan precedents on the necessity of proper indictment. As a result, the conviction and sentence were set aside and a retrial was or