Ratnayaka Mudiyanselage Nandana Ratnayake vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 0128/2019-2024

In the case between The Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Plaintiff/Respondent) and Ratnayaka Mudiyanselage Nandana Ratnayake (Defendant/Appellant), the court addressed the issue of whether the accused’s criminal liability could be established in light of evidence including a confession, eyewitness testimonies, forensic findings, dying declarations, and the accused’s mental health. It was held that although a prima facie case of murder was established on the evidence, the appellant’s unsound state of mind and diagnosis of schizophrenia at the time of the offence justified an acquittal on the basis of legal insanity. The decision reaffirmed the principle that an accused must possess the mental capacity to understand the acts committed for criminal liability to be