Burger Mary Pushpam Nirmalee Pieris vs Officer-in-Charge Maritime Unit, Crime Investigations Department – CA PHC APN 126/2013-2014

In the case between Burger Mary Pushpam Nirmalee Pieris (on behalf of suspect Kurukulasooriya Ranil Pieris) and the Officer-in-Charge, Maritime Unit, Crime Investigations Department, Colombo, and the Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed the issue of whether prolonged detention in remand custody—specifically, nearly two years—constitutes “exceptional circumstances” warranting the grant of bail under section 45(c) of the Immigration and Emigration Act when bail had previously been refused by the High Court. It was held that a significantly lengthy period of remand, which approaches a substantive portion of the possible maximum sentence, constitutes an exceptional circumstance justifying bail. This outcome reaffirmed the principle that the duration of pre-trial detention must be weighed