Sri Lanka, Aug. 26 -- The Court of Appeal yesterday dismissed an appeal filed by a private bus driver and affirmed his conviction and 13 years and three months' rigorous imprisonment for causing the deaths of seven people and injuries to 45 others in a fatal road accident near Chilaw in 2017.

A two-judge Bench comprising Justices Amal Ranaraja and Dr.Sumudu Premachandra held that the sentence imposed by the High Court of Puttalam was lawful and neither excessive nor disproportionate to the offences committed. The case arose from an accident on November 6, 2017, near the Mundalama Bridge on the A-3 road.

The accused, Mohamed Jifry Mohamed Wahil, was driving a crowded passenger bus travelling from Colombo to Jaffna when he engaged in a se...