Liyanage Nimal Jayathilake alias Podimahattaya vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0109/2018-2023

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (represented by the Attorney General’s Department) and Liyanage Nimal Jayathilake alias Podimahattaya, the court addressed the sufficiency of circumstantial evidence in criminal convictions for the alleged murders of a mother and her two children. It was held that the prosecution’s case, based largely on inconsistent witness accounts, disputed handwriting on a purported confession letter, forensic uncertainties regarding skeletal remains, and delayed police action, failed to establish the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The principle reaffirmed was that in cases reliant on circumstantial evidence, every link in the chain must point irresistibly to guilt, as established through prior case law. This outcome demonstra