Perera v. Attorney General – sllr 1998 volume 1 page 378

The case between Nawagamuwage Sajeewa Priyantha Perera (appellant) and the Attorney-General concerned the proper establishment of the chain of custody for heroin evidence and the admissibility of an admission under section 420 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979. It was held that the chain of custody, especially the “inwards journey” to the Analyst Department, must be established and that an admission as to the procedure’s correctness precludes challenge to the analyst’s report. The decision reaffirmed that an admission under section 420 may be recorded at any stage before the prosecution closes its case. Reliance was placed on statutory interpretation and procedural amendments, clarifying that minor misstatements regarding the scope of the admission do not vitiate the tr