Mahawanni Arachchige Sampath Chaminda vs Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC/115/2022-2024

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General, representing the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and Mahawanni Arachchige Sampath Chaminda, the issues addressed included the sufficiency and reliability of the dying declaration of Chandralatha and the sole eyewitness testimony of PW-4 in establishing guilt beyond reasonable doubt, as well as the adequacy of the trial court’s evaluation of both the dying declaration and the defense’s alibi. It was held that the combined strength of the dying declaration and corroborative eyewitness evidence met the required standard for criminal conviction, with the trial court’s findings reaffirmed and the conviction and death sentence upheld. The legal analysis relied on established case law regarding dying declarations and the evaluation of ali