Kobbegala Udagama Gedera Devayalage Sanjeewa Thusitha Kumara Vs. The Hon. Attorney General and Others – CA/MC/RE APPLICATION NO. 6/2017-2018

In Kobbegala Udagama Gedera Devayalage Sanjeewa Thusitha Kumara v. The Hon. Attorney General and Others, the issue concerned the legality of cumulative sentences imposed for alternative offences arising from several convictions in the Magistrates’ Courts of Minuwangoda and Pilessa, specifically for theft and related property offences. It was determined that sentencing on both a substantive offence (theft) and its alternative (disposal or retention of stolen property) exceeded legal authority and was contrary to law. Relying on admissions by the State, and in the absence of full records, the findings established that duplicate convictions for alternative property offences must be vacated while lawfully imposed sentences for theft and properly ordered compensation (with default sentences) re