Ranpatipathirage Prasanga Lakmal Vs. Hon. Attorney General – CA HCC 84/19-2025

In the matter of Ranpatipathirage Prasanga Lakmal (Accused-Appellant) and the Hon. Attorney General (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed an appeal against a conviction and life sentence for possession and trafficking 20.41g of heroin. The central legal issues involved the prosecution’s failure to prove the chain of custody for the productions, inter se contradictions in the prosecution’s evidence, and the trial judge’s consideration of the Accused-Appellant’s dock statement. It was determined that significant inconsistencies existed in the handling and transfer of productions, particularly on 30.10.2013. The court held that these evidentiary gaps and procedural shortcomings warranted intervention, reaffirming the principle, as established in *Perera V. Attorney General 1998 (1) SL