Ramasingha Vidana Pathiranage Sugath Kumara Alias Tharanga vs Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 0091/2022-2023

In the case between Hon. Attorney General and Ramasingha Vidana Pathiranage Sugath Kumara (Alias Tharanga), the court addressed the sufficiency and credibility of prosecution evidence supporting a gang rape conviction. It was held that the conviction and sentence imposed by the High Court could not be sustained because the evidentiary account presented by the prosecution was highly improbable, marked by internal inconsistencies and contradictions, particularly concerning the crime scene and sequence of events. The findings reaffirmed the principle that an accused is entitled to the benefit of the doubt where the prosecution fails to meet the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt. Reliance was placed on established legal standards governing the burden of proof, emphasizing that the cred