Hettiyadura Chrisanthima Nirmali Fernando vs Officer-in-Charge Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB) Colombo 01 and The Hon. Attorney General – BAL/0384/2023-2023

In the case between Hettiyadura Chrisanthima Nirmali Fernando (petitioner) and Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotic Bureau Colombo & others (respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether exceptional circumstances under Section 83(2) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance justified granting bail to an accused facing serious drug-related charges. It was held that prolonged remand, the accused’s lack of previous convictions, personal and familial hardship, and delay in prosecution together constituted exceptional circumstances warranting bail. This decision reaffirmed the principle that judicial discretion to grant bail may be exercised even in grave narcotics offenses when statutory requirements are met and special hardship is proved. The holding relied upon both statutor