Baddurdeen Sajeer Arfeth v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA NO. : 66/14-2016

In the case between Baddurdeen Sajeer Arfeth (Accused-Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the mandatory procedure under section 196 of the Criminal Procedure Code—requiring reading, explaining the indictment to the accused, and recording the plea—was duly followed. It was determined that the High Court did not comply with this statutory requirement, which constituted a fatal procedural defect. As a result, the conviction and sentences imposed were set aside and a retrial was ordered, reaffirming the principle that compliance with section 196 is essential to the validity of criminal proceedings. This decision relied on authorities such as Withanage Gunawardana v. Attorney General and B.S.H. Kodituwakku v. The Republic of Sri Lanka,