Punchi Hewage Dilhani Pubudumala vs The Officer-in-Charge Excise Office, Kesbewa – B 46502/2021-2023

In the case between Punchi Hewage Dilhani Pubudumala (Petitioner) and the Officer-in-Charge, Excise Office, Kesbewa, alongside the Attorney General’s Department, Colombo (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether exceptional circumstances, as required by Section 83(2) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (amended by Act No.41 of 2022), justified granting bail to an accused charged with the possession of a significant quantity of Heroin. It was held that the extended period of remand, coupled with procedural deficiencies such as delay in filing the indictment and uncertainties in the recovery report, constituted exceptional circumstances warranting the grant of bail. The principle reaffirmed was that the seriousness of the offense alone is insufficient to deny ba