Don Sakya Sri Athalage Vs. Officer in Charge, Child and Women Bureau, Headquarters Police Station, Anuradhapura and Hon. Attorney General – CA BAIL/53/2022-2022

In the case between Don Sakya Sri Athalage (petitioner) and the Officer in Charge, Child and Women Bureau, Headquarters Police, along with the Hon. Attorney General (respondents), the court addressed the issue of the grant of bail under Section 10(1)(a) of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, read with the Bail Act. It was held that the statutory requirement of demonstrating “exceptional circumstances” to justify bail was satisfied in view of the specific facts, including the relationship between the parties and the nature of the evidence, and that the Magistrate was to set appropriate conditions for release. The principle reaffirmed is that bail in such matters requires exceptional circumstances, which must be assessed based on the concrete facts before