Hewa Kondilage Ajith Suranjith v. The Attorney General and Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau – CA BAIL/0076/2023-2023

In the case between the Petitioner (husband of the Suspect) and the Respondents (the Attorney General’s Department and the Officer-in-Charge of the Police Narcotics Bureau), the court addressed the issue of whether exceptional circumstances justified the grant of bail under Section 83 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act (as amended by Act No. 41 of 2022), despite serious drug charges. The court held that a nearly four-year period of remand, absence of direct possession of contraband at arrest, and personal and procedural hardships constituted exceptional circumstances for bail. This holding reaffirmed the principle that exceptions may be recognized on a case-by-case basis when warranted by the cumulative impact of hardship, delay, and statutory context. Reliance was placed on rel