Mohomad Naufi vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0080/14-2022

In the case between Mohomad Naufi (Appellant/Accused) and The Attorney General of Sri Lanka (Respondent/Complainant) on behalf of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the court addressed whether the conviction for murder, founded exclusively on circumstantial evidence and application of the “last seen” doctrine, was justified in law. It was held that the cumulative circumstantial evidence—establishing opportunity, motive, and last presence with the deceased—was sufficient to uphold the conviction for murder. The principle reaffirmed is that, for circumstantial evidence to sustain a conviction, it must point conclusively to the guilt of the accused, eliminating reasonable doubt or the possibility of third-party involvement. Reliance was placed on established legal standards gover