Hettiarachchi Kankanamge Dhanasiri vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/0152/2023-2024

In the case between The Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (as complainant, on behalf of the prosecution and the victim) and Hettiarachchi Kankanamge Dhanasiri (accused-appellant), the court addressed the sufficiency and reliability of witness identification and testimony, particularly from an underage victim and the victim’s mother, in establishing guilt for kidnapping and grave sexual abuse. The determination was made that the inconsistencies in testimony, notably the victim’s recollections and certain contradictions with police records, did not negate the overall reliability of the evidence when considered cumulatively, and that the original conviction and sentence were properly based on the material presented. The decision reaffirmed the principle that com