Hathkotuwa Gamage Pushpakumara vs. Hon. Attorney General – CPA/133/21-2022

In the case between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (represented by the Attorney General) as complainant and Hathkotuwa Gamage Pushpakumara as accused–petitioner, the court examined whether pretrial detention extended over a lengthy period without a fixed trial date constitutes “exceptional circumstances” warranting the grant of bail under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act No.13 of 1984. The holding established that continued incarceration in such circumstances, where delays are not attributable to the accused–petitioner, constitutes an exceptional circumstance justifying bail. This decision emphasized that personal liberty cannot be curtailed indefinitely for administrative or systemic reasons, reaffirming the principle that the “exceptional circumstances” requirem