Mallika vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0012/2018-2023

In the case between Daluwathumulla Gamage Mallika (Accused-Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether the prosecution had established the chain of custody of confiscated heroin beyond reasonable doubt. It was held that significant gaps and inconsistencies surrounded the handling and production of the narcotics evidence, rendering the chain of custody unreliable. The holding reaffirmed the principle that in drug-related prosecutions, a continuous and unbroken chain of custody must be strictly demonstrated to uphold the integrity of evidence. Reliance was placed on established case law and statutory requirements emphasizing the evidentiary threshold necessary for conviction in narcotics cases. The outcome underscored that failu