Abeykoonge Seneviratne alias Heen Mahathaya alias Middeniye Mama vs. The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka – CA – HCC 0337/2017-2022

In the case between The Honourable Attorney General, on behalf of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Complainant-Respondent) and Abeykoonge Seneviratne alias Heen Mahathaya alias Middeniye Mama (Accused-Appellant), the court examined whether the accused-appellant’s conviction for murder was sustainable or whether the circumstances justified a conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 297 of the Penal Code. The court determined that the conviction for murder was unsafe due to the absence of eyewitnesses and the existence of evidence indicative of a sudden altercation rather than premeditation. Consequently, the conviction for murder was set aside and substituted with a conviction for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. A sentence of 10 years