Udatiyawalage Upali v. Officer-in Charge, Police Station, Galle & The Attorney General – CA PHC APN/0063/2022-2023

In the case between Vijayapura Damayanthi (petitioner) and the Officer-in-Charge, Galle Police Station, along with the Attorney General’s Department (respondents), the court addressed issues pertaining to the legality of the suspect’s prolonged detention without indictment, discrepancies between the weight of a seized substance as recorded by the police and the Government Analyst, and the assessment of exceptional circumstances warranting bail. It was held that although the charges related to possession of Heroin were serious, the delay in prosecution, noted inconsistencies in evidence, and the suspect’s personal circumstances constituted exceptional grounds justifying bail. The principle reaffirmed was that the presumption of innocence prevails even in serious drug-related offences, espec