Hatharabage Lekamlage Gunawardena vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 0081/2022-2025

In the matter of Hatharabage Lekamlage Gunawardena vs The Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed the issue of whether the Appellant’s actions constituted murder or culpable homicide not amounting to murder due to grave and sudden provocation. It was held that the Appellant acted under grave and sudden provocation, thereby reducing the conviction from murder under Section 296 of the Penal Code to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Exception 1 to Section 294, punishable under Section 297. This decision reaffirmed the principle that evidence suggesting grave and sudden provocation, including dock statements and discrepancies in eyewitness testimony, must be adequately considered. The judgment emphasized that the absence of premeditation or animosity, coupled with circumstance