MENAKAWIJESUNDERA J.

The instant appeal has been filed of set aside the judgment dated 15.07.2014 of the High Court of Nuwara-Eliya.

In the High Court, seven accused had been indicted under sections 140,104- 435,146-296,146-382 of three charges, 146-383 and in the alternative on the basis of common intention the same charges of murder, 382 and 383 of the Penal Code.

Out of the seven accused who had been indicted, the second and the fifth had been absconding and they were tried in absentia.

At the end of the trial, the learned trial judge found the 1^st to the 5^th accused guilty for all the charges based on common object.

Hence, being aggrieved by the said judgment the instant appeal has been filed by the 1st 3rd and the 4th accused appellants. (appellants).

The grounds of appeal raised by the 1st appellant were that,

1) The evidence of the identification parades held not being adequately considered,

2) The evidence in entirety not being properly considered,

The ground of appeal raised by the 3^rd appellant was that,

1) Identification of the 3rd appellant not being reliable.

The grounds of appeal raised by the 4th appellant were that,

1) Non evaluation of the identification of the 4^th appellant,

2) Non evaluation of the common object.

The incident which had taken place is that on the 12.2.2000 in the heart of the Nuwara-Eliya town there had been a jewelry shop and around 2.30 in the afternoon this shop had been looted by a group of people of about five persons who had been armed with a pistol, and knives and had injured the people inside and had fled. When they had come out of the jewelry shop to flee from the scene,the 3rd appellant had dropped some of the items he had robbed and at that time the deceased who had been in the vicinity had come running and had tried to assault him and the 3rd appellant had stabbed the deceased and all the appellants had fled together.

The witnesses who had been present at the time of the incident had said in evidence that the 1^st, 3^rd and the 4^th had come in to the jewelry shop and had shown knives and a pistolhad robbed the gold items. These witnesses had given evidence after 14 years from the incident but had stood the test of cross- examination well.

The police had received the 1st information on the same day around 2.45 in the afternoon and had received the tip off that the appellants had fled in a vehicle towards Haggala and the police had given chase to the vehicle and just near the Gregory Lake the vehicle in which the appellants had been escaping had toppled down a precipice and the Welimada police had found and arrested the 3rd, 4th and the 5^th accused. The 3^rd appellant and the 4^th has had injuries and from the custody of the 3^rd the police had recovered some items of jewelry. The said jewelry items had been produced in Court and had been later identified by the complainant.

Thereafter, on the information received from the above appellants, the police had arrested at the Borella Dezoysa maternity hospital three wheeler park the 1^st appellant and from his custody the police had recovereda jewelry pawning receipt. The police had traced the jewelry shop mentioned in the receipt and had recovered some jewelry items which had been later produced and identified by the Complainant during the trial.

The police also had searched the house of the wife of the 1^st appellant and from the said house also they had recovered some jewelry and the said items also had been identified by the Complainant in Court.

The arrested appellants had been produced before the Magistrate on the 13 of February around 17.40 hours and they had been remanded.

There had been two identification parades held on the 27^th of March and in late April.

The said identification parades had been held by AAL Gamage and AAL Ramaraja. Both these persons had given evidence and the three appellants had been identified at the said parades.

But all three appellants challenged the credibility of the parades for the reason that, according to the evidence of the tw