Warnakulasooriya Jude Kumara alias Antony Marcus Jude Kumar vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/0070/2022-2023

In the case between Warnakulasooriya Jude Kumara alias Antony Marcus Jude Kumar (Accused-Appellant) and the Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed the issue of sentencing a minor convicted of kidnapping from lawful guardianship and grave sexual abuse under Sections 354 and 365B(2)(b) of the Penal Code. The court held that imposing the statutory mandatory sentence was inappropriate in light of the Appellant’s age, reducing the sentence from seven to two years rigorous imprisonment. The holding reaffirmed the principle that judicial discretion and special protection must be accorded when sentencing a juvenile, consistent with Supreme Court jurisprudence and international conventions. This decision relied on relevant constitutional provisions, statutory interpretation,