350. Any one or more of the following orders may be made by the Supreme Court upon the hearing of an appeal from a judgment of a High Court in a criminal case or matter:-
| (1) In an appeal from a conviction, the Supreme Court may allow the appeal if it thinks that the verdict of the jury should be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable or cannot be supported having regard to the evidence, or that the judgment of the court before which the appellant was convicted should be set aside on the ground of a wrong decision of any question of law or that on any ground there was a miscarriage of justice, and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal: |
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| (2) If the Supreme Court allows an appeal against a conviction, it shall quash the conviction and direct a judgment of acquittal to be entered: |
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| (3) In an appeal against sentence the Supreme Court shall, if it thinks that a different sentence should have been passed, quash the sentence passed at the trial, and pass such other sentence warranted in law by the verdict (whether more or less severe) in substitution therefor as it thinks ought to have been passed, and in any other case shall dismiss the appeal. |
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| (4) If it appears to the Supreme Court that an appellant, though not properly convicted on some charge or part of the Indictment, has been properly convicted on some other charge or part of the indictment, the court may either affirm the sentence passed on the appellant at the trial or pass such sentence in substitution therefor as it thinks proper and as may be warranted in law by the verdict on the charge or part of the indictment on which the court considers that the appellant has been properly convicted. |
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| (5) Where an appellant has been convicted of an offence and the jury could on the indictment have found him guilty of some other offence, and on the verdict of the jury it appears to the Supreme Court that the jury must have been satisfied of facts which proved him guilty of that other offence, the court may, Instead of allowing or dismissing the appeal, substitute for the verdict found by the jury a verdict of guilty of that other offence and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be warranted in law for that other offence, not being a sentence of greater severity. |
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| (6) Where on the conviction of the appellant the jury have found a special verdict, and the Supreme Court considers that a wrong conclusion has been arrived at by the court before which the appellant has been convicted on the effect of that verdict, the Supreme Court may, instead of allowing the appeal, order such conclusion to be recorded as appears to be in law required by the verdict, and pass such sentence in substitution for the sentence passed at the trial as may be warranted in law. |
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| (7) If on any appeal it appears to the Supreme Court that, although the appellant was guilty of the act or omission charged against him, he was, at the time the act was done or omission made incapable by reason of unsoundness of mind of knowing the nature of the act or that it was wrong or contrary to law, the court may quash the sentence passed at the trial and order that the appellant be kept in safe custody in such place and manner as the court thinks fit, and shall report the case for the orders of the Minister. Upon such report, the appellant shall, for the purposes of Chapter II of this Law be deemed to be an accused whose case has been reported for the orders of the Minister, under that Chapter. |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts