Dilan Dewinda Kolambage and Mapitigamage Don Hasitha Sidantha Mapitigama vs. The Attorney General – CA HCC/0392/19-2022

In The Attorney General, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka v. Dilan Dewinda Kolambage and Mapitigamage Don Hasitha Sidantha Mapitigama, the court addressed the issue of the validity and reliability of identification evidence concerning alleged grave sexual abuse by two students against a minor victim. It was held that the identification procedures employed—specifically, repeated exposure of photographs and an informal identification parade—were fundamentally flawed and rendered the convictions unsafe. The decision reaffirmed the principle that stringent and reliable identification processes are essential in criminal proceedings to prevent miscarriages of justice. Reliance was placed on established legal principles from Regina v. Turnbul and related authorities, emphasizing that im