The Supreme Court today dismissed a special leave to appeal application filed by convicted drug trafficker Gampola Vidanage Samantha Kumara, better known as “Wele Suda”, thereby allowing the death sentence imposed on him by the Colombo High Court to stand.A three-judge bench comprising Justices Mahinda Samayawardhena, Arjuna Obeyesekere and Sobhitha Rajakaruna refused to grant special leave to appeal against the decisions of the lower courts.

With the dismissal of the application, the conviction and death sentence imposed on Samantha Kumara remain in force.Wele Suda was sentenced to death by the Colombo High Court on October 14, 2015, after being found guilty of possessing and trafficking 7.05 grams of heroin in Mount Lavinia in 2008.The High Court judgment was delivered by the present Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena during his tenure as a Judge of the Colombo High Court.Subsequently, on April 5, 2019, the Court of Appeal affirmed both the conviction and the death sentence imposed by the High Court.

In his application before the Supreme Court, the appellant sought to challenge the legality of the judgments delivered by both the Colombo High Court and the Court of Appeal.President’s Counsel Kapila Waidyaratne appeared for the appellant-accused, while Additional Solicitor General Lakmali Karunanayake, PC, appeared on behalf of the Attorney General.