Bulathwaththa Kankanage Buddima Kaulshalya vs. Officer-in-Charge, The Police Station, Gandara – CA BAL/36/2021-2022

In the case between Bulathwaththa Kankanage Buddima Kaulshalya (suspect–petitioner, a minor) and Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Gandara (complainant–respondent), the court addressed the issue of bail under Section 10(1) of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, No. 4 of 2015. It was held that the continued remand of the suspect was not justified in light of exceptional circumstances presented by the persistent investigative delay and the absence of an indictment against the petitioner. The principle established was that substantive procedural delays attributable to investigative authorities may be considered “exceptional circumstances” warranting the grant of bail, even when statutory thresholds for bail are otherwise high. Reliance was placed upon the