Veebeddehenegedara Upali Nawaratne vs Hon. Attorney General – HCC/0358/2019-2021

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Veebeddehenegedara Upali Nawaratne, the court addressed whether the conviction for murder under Section 296 of the Penal Code was sustainable or if the facts established only culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 297. The appellate court found that, while the eyewitness testimony of PW2 was credible and consistent, the medical evidence failed to establish that the injuries were sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death—an essential requirement for a murder conviction. Consequently, the conviction for murder was set aside and substituted with a conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The sentence was reduced to ten years’ rigorous imprisonment and a fine. The decision