Walawadurage Asanka Alis Kovilaya and Walawadurage Amith Madushanka vs Hon. Attorney General – CA APPEAL NO. 369-370/2017-2023

In Attorney General v. Walawadurage Asanka Alis Kovilaya and Walawadurage Amith Madushanka, the Court addressed whether the conviction of the appellants for unlawful assembly and murder under section 32 of the Penal Code was legally sustainable in view of the evidence led at trial. It was held that the convictions and sentences could not stand due to the absence of credible evidence supporting the existence of an unlawful assembly and the presence of significant inconsistencies and omissions in material witness statements. The Court reaffirmed the principle that criminal convictions require proof beyond reasonable doubt and must not be based on contradictory or incomplete evidence, emphasizing that judicial findings must rest on a firm evidentiary foundation. Relevant statutory provisions