Appeal Court overturns High Court conviction based on confession made to police

A man sentenced to life imprisonment on heroin-related charges walked free this week when the Court of Appeal acquitted him after dismissing a High Court judgement which it said was based on confessions made to police.

The man was indicted in the Colombo High Court on May 12, 2014, for trafficking and possession of 2.51 grams of heroin. Following a trial, he was found guilty by the High Court and sentenced to life imprisonment on November 30, 2019.

The Court of Appeal bench which heard his petition observed that a confessionary statement of the appellant was led in the trial by the prosecution, though confessions made to a police officer were irrelevant and inadmissible in terms of Section 25 of the Evidence Ordinance.

The bench comprised Justices Sampath B. Abayakoon and P. Kumararatnam.

The approach of the High Court Judge clearly demonstrates that he had been greatly influenced by the confessionary statement which had crept into the court proceedings, the CA noted. “The prosecution should not have led evidence which contained confessionary statement of the Appellant. This leads to a denial of a fair trial.”

Moreover, the wording of the judgement very clearly demonstrates, that the High Court Judge had reversed the burden of proof on the Appellant and this is not in accordance with the basic rules of criminal prosecution, the bench observed.

The CA stressed that the High Court Judge should not have rejected the defence evidence in this case as it was more than sufficient to cast reasonable doubt in the prosecution case. As the evidence presented by the Appellant creates a reasonable doubt over the prosecution case, the CA said it had decided to set aside the conviction and sentence imposed on the Appellant.

Ramalingam Ranjan appeared for the Appellant. Deputy Solicitor General Riyaz Bary appeared for the Attorney General.

The prosecution should not have led evidence which contained confessionary statement of the Appellant. This leads to a denial of a fair trial.