Kirilla Liyanage Don Nicholas Pradeep vs. Attorney General – HCC 120/16-2021

In the case between Kirilla Liyanage Don Nicholas Pradeep Sampath (Accused-Appellant) and the Attorney General (Respondent), the court addressed whether the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that the appellant was guilty of the murder of Hathurusinghe Wasantha Chandralal Sathurusinghe. It was held that the prosecution’s case, which relied principally on circumstantial evidence and dying declarations, failed to conclusively establish the identity of the appellant as the perpetrator. The admissibility and reliability of the dying declaration, the sufficiency of the identification evidence, and the link between the identified “Nilanthi” and the appellant were found to be inadequate. Ultimately, the Court set aside the conviction and acquitted the appellant, reaffirming the principle