Ekanayake v. Attorney General – SLR – sllr 1988 volume 1 page 046

In the case between Ekanayake (Appellant) and the Attorney-General (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of the High Court of Colombo’s jurisdiction to try offences committed on board or “in relation to” a foreign aircraft under the Offences Against Aircraft Act No. 24 of 1982 and the Judicature Act No. 2 of 1978. It was determined that the High Court had jurisdiction over such offences, and that the phrase “in relation to” should be construed broadly to extend to connected acts. The charges against the appellant for seizing control of an aircraft and for dishonest retention of stolen property were held to arise from a single, continuous transaction, thereby negating arguments of misjoinder. The principles reaffirmed included the proper statutory interpretation of jurisdictional prov