Ravindra Buddhadasa Wettasinghe v. Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC/APN/NO:58/2018-2018

In the case between Ravindra Buddhadasa Wettasinghe (Accused-Petitioner) and the Hon. Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the Court of Appeal should exercise its revisionary jurisdiction under Article 138 of the Constitution and the High Court of Provinces (Special Provisions) Act No. 19 of 1990 to set aside four interlocutory orders of the High Court. The central question concerned if portions of a witness’s evidence, objected to during trial, should be expunged from the record immediately or considered at the stage of final judgment. The court held that revisionary jurisdiction was not warranted at this interim stage as the challenged orders did not affect the substantive rights of the petitioner and the trial was ongoing. The principle was reaffirmed