The State vs Ajith Priyantha Weerathunga – CA-HCC-13/21-2023

In the case of The Hon. Attorney General v. Ajith Priyantha Weerathunga, the court addressed the issue of whether the conviction and death sentence for murder, imposed under Section 296 of the Penal Code by the High Court of Hambanthota, were legally sustainable. The appeal focused on questions regarding the reliability of eyewitness identification, the credibility of forensic evidence, the handling of an alibi defense, and judicial procedure in the evaluation of written submissions. It was held that the prosecution’s evidence—including consistent witness testimonies and corroborative forensic analysis—established guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The principle reaffirmed was that a conviction can be sustained where identification, corroborated by physical evidence, is proven and the defense