Illandarage Wasantha Detawala vs Hon. Attorney-General – SC SPL.LA.NO. 239/2017-2017

In the case between Illandarage Wasantha Detawala, Mahanamagam Geeganage Piyadasa alias Baale Detawala, Panawala Ralalage Sarath Bandara Panawala (Accused-Petitioners) and the Hon. Attorney-General (Respondent), the court addressed whether the refusal of a re-listing application and the dismissal of a revision application by the Court of Appeal—decided in the absence of petitioners’ counsel—constituted an error of law. The finding established that sufficient grounds existed for the re-listing, as the revision application was dismissed due to counsel’s absence caused by a bona fide error regarding the hearing date. The orders of the Court of Appeal dated 14.06.2017 and 28.09.2017 were set aside, and the Court of Appeal was directed to hear the revision application on its merits. This holdin