Wijayarathna vs. Attorney General – sllr 2010 volume 2 page 407

In Wijayarathna v. Attorney General, the court addressed whether an accused, tried and convicted in absentia after absconding, retains the statutory right to appeal, and whether such an accused may obtain relief via the court’s revisionary jurisdiction, particularly when exhibiting contumacious conduct. The holding affirmed that while statutory appeal rights subsist, the invocation of revisionary powers remains a discretionary remedy unavailable to those who undermine the judicial process by evading trial. The sufficiency of evidence, when the High Court transferred evidence between indictments, was determined to be a question for appeal, not revision. Precedents such as Sidharman de Silva v. AG and A.G. v. Podisingho underscored that judicial discretion must be exercised to prevent abuse