Padmasiri vs Attorney General – sllr 2012 volume 1 page 024

In the case between Mutukuda Arachchige Samantha Padmasiri (Accused-Appellant) and the Attorney General, the court addressed whether it is necessary to record an allocutus from an accused, who was tried and convicted in absentia, after subsequent arrest and appearance before the High Court. The holding determined that the allocutus need not be re-recorded nor the death sentence re-pronounced where the conviction previously stood valid, and the relevant statutory provisions did not require such repetition. The decision reinforced the principle that trial process and sentencing, when completed in absentia with statutory compliance, remains binding unless valid grounds for review or rehearing are established. This relied on the interpretation of Criminal Procedure Code sections 241(3)(b), 279