Jayawardena Vidanapathiranalage Kumara Premachandra vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 0063/2022-2023

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General and Jayawardena Vidanapathiranalage Kumara Premachandra, the court addressed the issue of the appellant’s challenge to the sentence imposed on conviction for grave sexual abuse under the Penal Code. It was held that while the procedural matter regarding the non-production of the accused via the zoom platform was noted, the only point of contention was the sentence. After considering the arguments and submissions of both parties, the sentence was varied to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment from the date of conviction, with the remainder of the sentence remaining unchanged, and the appeal was dismissed. The principle reaffirmed is that sentence modification can be granted when merited by circumstances, without affecting the conviction. Reliance wa