Leelawathie Menike and Another vs Attorney-General – sllr 2008 volume 2 page 001

In Leelawathie Menike and Another v. Attorney-General, the court considered whether non-compliance with mandatory procedural requirements regarding the pronouncement and dating of the judgment under Sections 279, 283, and 203 of the Code of Criminal Procedure constituted a fatal irregularity, and the admissibility of earlier testimony under Section 33 of the Evidence Ordinance. The appellants, charged with murder and conspiracy, contended that the trial judgment was irregularly delivered and that reliance on evidence from an unprocurable witness breached fundamental evidentiary principles. After reviewing statutory provisions and precedents, it was held that the procedural irregularities did not result in a miscarriage of justice and that the prior testimony, previously subject to cross-ex