Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Upatissa Ralahami v. Attorney General – CA 76/2015-2017

In the case between Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage Upatissa Ralahami (Appellant) and the Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo-12 (Respondent), the court considered whether a petition of appeal, filed over a year following conviction, complied with the requirements of Sri Lankan criminal procedure law. It was held that such appeal was impermissible as it was filed well beyond the statutory 14-day limit under Section 331(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code. The decision reaffirmed the principle that strict procedural compliance is mandatory for criminal appeals, and that the court’s revisionary powers are limited to exceptional cases supported by justifiable cause. The findings emphasized that deliberate absconding and failure to notify the court of a change in address, when cou