Sudirikku Hennadigodage Piyaseeli vs. Officer in Charge Colombo Crime Division and Hon. Attorney General – CPA 25/2022-2022

In the case between Sudirikku Hennadigodage Piyaseeli (petitioner) and the Officer in Charge, Attorney General’s Department, Sabdeen Mohammed Suber, among others (respondents), the court addressed the legality of remanding a suspect following the recovery of 28.158 kilograms of heroin, weapons, and ammunition, and whether the statutory exception for bail in drug-related offenses had been met. The court held that the required threshold for “exceptional circumstances” under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act, as amended, was not satisfied, and that evidentiary disputes regarding the recovery site and the suspect’s connection did not meet the standard for bail. The holding reaffirmed that moral considerations are not relevant to bail decisions in narcotics cases, relying on statutory