Maldeniye Gedera Ravindra Piyasena alias Ranuka vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA/HCC/0155/2024-2025

In Maldeniye Gedera Ravindra Piyasena vs. The Hon. Attorney General, decided by the Court of Appeal of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka on 28/03/2025, the issue of statutory rape was addressed, where the Appellant was charged with an offense committed on or before February 19, 2013. It was determined that the evidence, including the victim’s testimony and corroborative findings, was sufficient to prove the offense beyond a reasonable doubt, reaffirming the principle that the prosecution bears the burden of proof even in the presence of testimonial inconsistencies. The decision relied on precedents such as Bhoginbhai Hirjibhai v. State of Gujarat and R. v. Dossai, emphasizing that the precision of temporal recollection is not essential to establish the material elements of an