Attorney General v. Nilanthi – sllr 1997 volume 2 page 203

In Attorney General v. Nilanthi, the court considered the jurisdiction of the High Court to enlarge bail for a suspect remanded under the Offensive Weapons Act. The issue centered on whether, under section 10 of the Act, the phrases “charged with” or “accused of” an offence include those merely “suspected of” committing the offence, thus allowing earlier court intervention. The High Court had enlarged bail without sufficient reasons, prompting the Attorney-General to seek revision. The court determined that the High Court lacked jurisdiction to grant bail in this context, holding that a purposive construction of the statutory language was required to include suspects under judicial control at an early stage. The earlier High Court order was set aside, and a direction was given for bail to