Nirosh Amantha Amadoru v. Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN -128/15-2016

In the case between Nirosh Amantha Amadoru (Accused-Petitioner-Petitioner) and the Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent-Respondent), the court examined whether the High Court, in an appellate review of a Magistrate’s Court decision under the Debt Recovery (Special Provisions) Act No. 2 of 1990 and the Criminal Procedure Code, possessed the authority to impose compensation and default sentences beyond the statutory limits fixed for such offences. The findings established that the High Court exceeded its jurisdiction in ordering compensation of Rs. 800,000 per count and default sentences of two years’ imprisonment per count, as both far surpassed the statutory caps imposed by the relevant Act and the Criminal Procedure Code. The judgment reaffirmed that appellate courts are bound by