Basnayake Mudiyanselage Gunaratne and others Vs. The Attorney General – CASE NO. 36-37/2016-2018

In the case between the Attorney General of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Basnayake Mudiyanselage Gunaratne and Algiyawanna Mohottilalage Chandana Priyashantha Alagiyawanna, the court addressed whether the proceedings before the High Court of Chilaw, in which the presiding judge changed multiple times without formal adoption of previous proceedings in accordance with Section 48 of the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978, met the legal and constitutional requirements for a fair trial. It was held that the failure to formally adopt prior proceedings and adequately inform the accused of their rights after a judicial change constituted an incurable irregularity, breaching fair trial standards under both domestic and international law. The court reaffirmed the principle that obser