News
Court of Appeal strikes down Kurunegala Magistrate’s order in fatal accident case
View(s):By Ranjith Padmasiri
The Court of Appeal has quashed the Kurunegala Magistrate’s order to remand a suspect who was subsequently slapped with murder charges following a fatal accident. It stated that, upon examining the circumstances, the incident was more appropriately categorised under the Motor Traffic Act.
The accident had claimed the life of Attorney-at-Law Buddhadeva Gunaratne, a resident of Pothuhera. After considering a revision application filed by the suspect who had been arrested for murder, CA Justice Sasi Mahendran, with Justice Amal Ranaraja agreeing, ordered the Kurunegala Magistrate to send the case record to the Attorney General to consider the material available for further action.
The CA judgement stated that the magistrate had failed to properly assess whether the offence allegedly committed by the petitioner fell under the provisions of the Motor Traffic Act or constituted the offence of murder.
The CA bench ordered the magistrate to enlarge the suspect on the same terms imposed on him by his earlier order.
The Court further ordered prison authorities to produce the suspect businessman, identified as Pradeep Lanka Edirisinge, a resident of Dodamgaslanda, before the Kurunegala Magistrate without delay.
The fatal accident had occurred on April 6, 2025, when a vehicle driven by the petitioner, who was revealed to be under the influence of drugs, crashed into the vehicle driven by the attorney-at-law, killing him. He had accordingly been arrested by police and granted bail after being produced before the Kurunegala Magistrate.
However, after a motion was filed and evidence was presented by the aggrieved party, the petitioner had been arrested again on an allegation of murder and remanded after being produced before the same magistrate, who had accepted the argument that there was enough evidence to indicate it was a murder.
Mohan Weerakoon, PC, with S. Peiris, appeared for the petitioner, while State Counsel Oswald Perera appeared for the Attorney General.
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