Thiruchelvam v. Attorney General – sllr 1995 volume 2 page 135

In Thiruchelvam (Appellant) v. Attorney General, the court addressed the interpretation of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (as amended by Act No. 13 of 1984), specifically the penalty provisions in Part III of the Third Schedule for possession of heroin. The court held that possession of “2 grammes of heroin and above” mandates either a sentence of death or life imprisonment, with no scope for a lesser term at judicial discretion. This conclusion reaffirmed the principle that where the legislature has fixed the penalty, no alternative punishment can be imposed by judicial interpretation. Reliance was placed on statutory interpretation, including an analysis that rejected the application of Van der Hultes v. Attorney General in this context, affirming that judicial discreti