Hon. Attorney General vs. Sulthan Ibrahim Rizwan and Nagoorthamby Athamlebbe – CA/HCC/445-446/17-2022

In the case between Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Complainant-Respondent) and Sulthan Ibrahim Rizwan alias Sulthan Ibrahim Rizwath and Nagoorthamby Athamlebbe alias Razick alias Nagoorthamby Athamlebbe (Accused-Appellants), the issue concerned whether the custodial sentences imposed on the accused by the High Court of Kalmunai for offences of kidnapping and statutory rape under sections 354 and 364 of the Penal Code were excessive or justified. The court addressed the applicability of judicial discretion to depart from the statutory minimum sentences, considering the absence of violence, lack of prior convictions, consensual circumstances, and the personal circumstances of the accused and victim. The holding established that while the convictions for all