Attorney General vs Dekum Ambakotuwa Prageeth Nishantha Bandara – SC APPEAL NO.220/2012-2023

In the case between Complainant-Respondent-Appellant and Dekum Ambakotuwa Prageeth Nishantha Bandara (Respondent/Accused-Appellant-Respondent), the Supreme Court addressed whether an application for special leave to appeal complied with the mandatory rule regarding the proper naming of parties. It was determined that substituting the respondent’s name after the mandatory six-week period, in breach of Supreme Court Rules 4, 7, 28, and 38 of 1990, constituted a fatal defect that could not be remedied post-lodgement. The application was consequently rejected, reaffirming the principle that compliance with procedural rules is mandatory for the validity of appellate proceedings. The ruling emphasized that strict adherence to rules governing party identification at filing is necessary, and defec