Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation vs. Hallabagamage and Others – sllr 2021 volume 1 page 423

In the case between Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and Hallabagamage and Others, the court addressed whether a confession given by a suspect—who was later discharged from a criminal case—could be admitted in a production inquiry under the Code of Criminal Procedure and Evidence Ordinance, and whether stolen property (melted gold) should be released to the person from whose custody it was seized or to the rightful owner. The court determined that the confession was admissible for the purposes of the production inquiry since disqualification under sections 24 and 25 of the Evidence Ordinance applied only to criminal proceedings, not to property inquiries after discharge. It was established that the property, shown to be stolen from the Insurance Corporation, should not revert to the suspect