R.K.W. Pavan Damsiri vs Officer-in-Charge Police Station, Ragama – CA PHC APN NO. 123/2015-2017

In the case between R.K.W. Pavan Damsiri (Accused-Petitioner) and the Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Ragama, and others (Respondents), the court addressed whether the accused-petitioner should be permitted to introduce a CD as evidence in support of his defense, where both the Magistrate and the High Court previously refused such admission based on a finding of irrelevance due to a time discrepancy between the offence (2009) and the alleged evidentiary material (2011). The Court of Appeal set aside the decisions of the lower courts, holding that the issue of admitting the CD should be determined only after the accused-petitioner’s evidence is recorded, ensuring that the Magistrate considers the relevance of the CD based on the evidence actually presented. This ruling underscores the le