Ratnasiri Silva Kaluperuma vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APPLICATION NO. 04/2014-2014

In the case between Kaluperuma Kelum Dushmantha de Silva (on behalf of Ratnasiri Silva Kaluperuma, the Accused-Appellant-Petitioner) and the Hon. Attorney General, the court addressed whether bail should be granted pending appeal after a conviction for grave sexual abuse. The court held that bail pending appeal is available only in the presence of exceptional circumstances and found none in this instance. This determination reaffirmed the principle, rooted in precedents such as King vs. Keerala and The Queen vs. Rupasingha Perera, that the threshold for bail post-conviction requires demonstration of circumstances beyond the ordinary. The decision emphasized that neither a lack of prior convictions nor judicial disparity in sentencing satisfies this standard, thereby affirming the High Cour