The Court of Appeal has upheld the death sentence imposed on a man convicted of possessing and trafficking 2.53 grams of heroin, dismissing his appeal against the High Court’s verdict.
The convict, Jayasingham Rajeev, also known as Sudakaran, was found guilty by the Colombo High Court for the possession and transportation of narcotics. He was subsequently sentenced to death.
Delivering the decision, a two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Shashi Mahendran and P. Kumaran Ratnam, affirmed the High Court’s ruling.
The case originated from a police raid conducted in the Madampitiya area in Colombo on March 17, 2014. During the operation, the accused was arrested while in possession of 2.53 grams of heroin.
Following the arrest, the Attorney General filed indictments against him in the Colombo High Court on charges of possessing and trafficking heroin. After a full trial, the High Court judge convicted the accused on all charges and handed down the death penalty.
Challenging this decision, Rajeev filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal. In his appeal, he argued that the High Court’s judgment was legally flawed. He contended that the trial judge had failed to consider material inconsistencies in the prosecution’s evidence and had not properly evaluated the legality of his arrest.
However, after reviewing the submissions from all parties, the Court of Appeal bench concluded that the High Court judge had correctly analyzed and evaluated the evidence. The bench stated that the verdict was legally sound and that they found no reason to intervene.
The Court of Appeal further held that the prosecution had successfully proven the charges against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the death sentence was confirmed. (Newswire)
