Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption vs. Senarath Bandara Kulatunge – CA HCC/419/18-2021

In the case between the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption and Senarath Bandara Kulatunge with Prabha Nilushika Sarojini Ranaweera, the court addressed whether the conviction of the 2nd defence witness-appellant for perjury under Section 449(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act was justified. The court held that the legal and evidentiary prerequisites for perjury had not been satisfied, and determined that the conviction and sentence could not be sustained on the available material. The principle reaffirmed is that perjury requires manifest and unequivocal falsehood, as established by precedent, and should not be invoked where the evidence is merely unconvincing or subject to disbelief. This decision relied on the strict interpretive standard for perjury and