Imad Aboobucker vs. Officer in Charge, Police Station, Narcotics Bureau – CA PHC/APN CPA 42/2021-2021

In Imad Aboobucker (on behalf of Abdul Qadir Aboobucker, 10th suspect) v. Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Narcotics Bureau and Hon. Attorney General, consideration was given to whether the High Court of Chilaw’s refusal to grant bail to the 10th suspect, arrested in connection with more than 67 kilograms of heroin, under Section 83(1) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, was lawful. The application sought revision premised on grounds of ill health and the risk posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, contending “exceptional circumstances” existed to warrant bail. The Court determined that the threshold for “exceptional circumstances” remained stringent in drug offences of this nature, reiterating that neither absence of prior convictions nor unsupported claims of ill health or ge