Sakunthala Nethsarani vs. Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau – CA PHC APN 0159/22-2023

In the case between Sakunthala Nethsarani (petitioner, mother of the suspect) and the Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau, The Attorney General, and Nissanka Arachchige Dinuka (respondents), the court addressed whether the High Court of Gampaha’s refusal of bail should be set aside on revision, specifically considering if the suspect’s alleged medical condition constituted exceptional circumstances under the amended Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. It was held that the medical evidence did not amount to exceptional circumstances sufficient to justify granting bail, affirming the principle that statutory limitations on bail in narcotics cases are to be strictly applied. The decision relied on the amended section 83(2) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (