Sri Lanka Magistrate Rangajeeva Wimalasena said that the court did not believe the witnesses as they gave contradictory evidence. An application for ‘no case to answer’ should only be allowed when there is no evidence that a crime has been committed by the defendant.
WHO KILLED PUNA CHAND?
In case of State v Ratu Inoke Takiveikata, Justice Goundar said: "The phrase "no evidence" has been interpreted to mean that there is no evidence on an essential element of the charged offence (Sisa Kalisoqo v State Criminal Appeal No. 52 of 1984). If there is some evidence on the essential elements of the charged offence, the application for a no case to answer cannot succeed. The credibility, reliability and weight are matters for the assessors and not for the trial judge to consider at a no case to answer stage."
THE FACE TELLS IT ALL: Bala with his back to the victim's widow!
The ‘Galbraith Submission’ after the case of R v Galbraith [1981] 1 WLR 1039 re "No Case To Answer":
“If there is no evidence that the crime alleged has been committed by the defendant, there is no difficulty. The judge will of course stop the case. The difficulty arises where there is some evidence but it is of a tenuous character, for example because of inherent weakness or vagueness or because it is inconsistent with other evidence. (a) Where the judge comes to the conclusion that the prosecution evidence, taken at its highest, is such that a jury properly directed could not properly convict upon it, it is his duty, upon a submission being made, to stop the case. (b) Where however the prosecution evidence is such that its strength or weakness depends on the view to be taken of a witness’s reliability or other matters which are generally speaking within the province of the jury and where on one possible view of the facts there is evidence upon which a jury could properly come to the conclusion that the defendant is guilty, then the judge should allow the matter to be tried by the jury…."
