Arambe Wiyannalage Thilakaratne Vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA 80/2013-2016

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Attorney General) and Arambe Wiyannalage Thilakaratne, the court addressed whether the appellant’s conviction and death sentence for the murder of his wife should be upheld on appeal. The court held that a conviction grounded solely on circumstantial evidence is permissible if such evidence excludes any reasonable hypothesis of innocence, reaffirming the principle that circumstantial evidence can satisfy the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt in serious criminal cases. Reliance was placed on established case law including Somaratne Rajapaksa v. AG and Don Shamantha Jude Anthony Jayamaha v. AG, emphasizing that the sustained chain of circumstantial evidence, when cogently established, is sufficient for conviction. Th