Jayasekera Mudiyanselage Jayatissa alias Bella Eda Nilame vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/181/2018-2024

In Jayasekera Mudiyanselage Jayatissa alias Bella Eda Nilame v. Attorney General, the court addressed whether circumstantial evidence presented at trial was sufficient to prove the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt for murder and robbery. The holding set aside earlier convictions of murder and robbery, substituting instead a conviction under section 394 of the Penal Code for a lesser offence, with a sentence of three years rigorous imprisonment and a fine. The decision reaffirmed that judicial reliance on circumstantial evidence must meet the threshold of proof beyond reasonable doubt, and procedural integrity in the chain of evidence, as well as proper application of evidentiary presumptions under section 114(a) of the Evidence Ordinance, are mandatory. This approach prevents wrongf