Prathapasinghe Arachchilage Asangika Madumali vs. Officer-in-Charge Police Station Angulana – CA PHC APN 79/2020-2021

In the case between Prathapasinghe Arachchilage Asangika Madumali (petitioner) and The Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Angulana, along with the Hon. Attorney General (respondents), the court addressed whether “exceptional circumstances” existed to grant bail to a suspect remanded for possession of heroin under Sections 54A/54B of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, given that the Bail Act did not apply and only the High Court could grant such bail. It was held that prolonged remand without indictment, despite the availability of the Government Analyst’s report, constituted an “exceptional circumstance” sufficient to warrant the granting of bail. The decision reaffirmed the principle that inordinate and unexplained delays in prosecution undermine lawful detention, drawing o