IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA In the matter of an Appeal under and in terms of the Article 138 (1) of the Constitution read with the Section 11 (1) of the High Court of the Provinces (Special Provisions) Act No. 19 of 1990 with the Section 331 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act No. 15 of 1979.

CA. HCC 149 / ABC / 2014 Case Number of the High Court of The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Kandy: HC 15 / 2007 Complainant Vs

01.Pattiya Vidanalage Ruwan Perera

02.Wijesinghe Mudiyanselage Brian Abeysinghe

03.Baalayalage Anura Prasanga Udaya Kumara

04.Habarakade Roshan

05.Arukkwaththa Patawala Gedara Ketwala Muhandiranlage Nuwan Priyadarshana (Deceased)

Accused And Now in Between

01.Pattiya Vidanalage Ruwan Perera

02.Wijesinghe Mudiyanselage Brian Abeysinghe

03.Baalayalage Anura Prasanga Udaya Kumara

04.Habarakade Roshan Accused Appellants Vs.

The Hon. Attorney General Attorney General's Department, Colombo 12. Complainant Respondent Before: N. Bandula Karunarathna J.

&

R. Gurusinghe J.

Counsel: Neranjan Jayasinghe for the 01st & 02nd Accused – Appellants Rienzie Arsecularatne for the 03rd Accused – Appellant Dr. Ranjith Fernando with I.B.S. Harshana for the 04th Accused – Appellant Anoopa de Silva, SSC for the Complainant-Respondent Written Submissions: By the 01st & 02nd Accused – Appellant on 06.12.2017 By the 03rd Accused – Appellant on 09.01.2018 By the 04th Accused – Appellant on 11.12.2017 & 19.04.2021 By the Complainant-Respondent on 12.01.2018 Argued on: 30.03.2021 Decided on: 30.07.2021 N. Bandula Karunarathna J.

The accused-appellants have preferred this appeal against the decision, given by the learned Judge of the High Court of Kandy on the 24th of July 2014, by which, the accused-appellants who are now before this Court, were convicted and sentenced to, rigorous imprisonment for twenty years and death, for having, robbed a van bearing the registration number 252- 0121 which was in the possession of one Balasuriya Arachchige Chanaka Perera (the deceased) and caused his death.

The accused-appellants, together with the 5th accused (who had died before the trial commenced), were indicted on five counts that charged them with, 1. having been members of an unlawful assembly, the common object of which was to rob the van aforementioned, thereby committing an offence punishable under section 140 of the Penal Code, 2. having robbed the van aforesaid, in prosecution of the said common object thereby committing an offence punishable under section 383, read with section 146 of the same, 3. having committed murder by causing the death of the deceased, in prosecution of the common object thereby committing an offence punishable under section 296, read with section 146 of the same, 4. having robbed the van aforementioned thereby committing an offence punishable under section 383, read with section 32 of the same and

5. having committed murder by causing the death of the deceased thereby committing an offence punishable under section 296, read with section 32 of the same.

The trial commenced on the 29th of April 2014, during which the prosecution, led evidence of nine witnesses, marked documents, of the statement made by the fourth accused- appellant under section 27 of the Evidence Ordinance (P5), of confessions made by the third and the fourth accused-appellants (P6 and P7) and of the statutory statements made by the accused-appellants (P9) and produced a mobile phone, a cassette player, three speaker baffles and two fog lights; (P1 to P4).

The narrative below unfolds the story of the prosecution.

After seeing a dead body fifty metres below the road level, in a culvert at a bend in the Kandy-Nuwara-Eliya road, one Sumith Kannangara had made the first complaint to the Police in Pudalu-Oya.

B.A. Dayananda Perera (PW1), the father of the deceased, had stated in his evidence that the deceased was his only son and was a self-employed taxi driver stationed at Awissawella, who went on hires in the van beari