The Court of Appeal’s two-judge bench, comprising Justice R. Gurusinghe and Justice Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, acquitted Modarage Raneesha, who had been convicted by the High Court in Colombo for possession of 5.5 grammes of heroin.
The prosecution alleged that the officers of the Narcotic Bureau acted on information
received from a private informant, arrested Modarage Raneesha at 4.30 p.m.
16.01.2007, Station Road, Dehiwala, as she walked towards Dehiwala
Railway Station. The prosecution’s version is that Raneesha had a parcel hidden.
inside her brazier, and accordingly, she was arrested.
Raneesha was found guilty on August 6, 2018 after a trial before the High Court.
sentenced to death.
Aggrieved by the aforesaid decision, Raneesha preferred an appeal to the Court of
appeal, and during the appeal it was argued that the trial judge had failed to appreciate the contradictory nature of the prosecution witnesses and that the trial judge had held that the prosecution had proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt before considering the defence evidence.
The Court of Appeal, having examined the first ground of the appeal alone, held
Having regard to the infirmities and contradictions of the prosecution’s version,
cannot be believed that the case has been proved beyond reasonable doubt and
As a result, the conviction and sentence were reversed, and the accused was acquitted.
from the charge levelled against her.
Rienzie Arseculeratne PC with Counsel Chamindri Arseculeratne, Thejitha Koralage, Namal Karunaratne, Udara Muhandiramge, Thilina Punchihewa, Punsisi Gamage, Eranga Yakandawala, and Chenelle Fernando appeared for the Accused.
