Amarasinghe Gunawardena Don Kusum Kumari Amarasinghe v. Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Kahawatte, et al. – CA PHC APN: 60/2015-2015

In Amarasinghe Gunawardena Don Kusum Kumari Amarasinghe v. Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Kahawatte & Others, the court addressed whether the 4th Respondent, Ajith Malavi Gunaratne, should be granted bail after being held in remand for nearly one year following refusal of bail by the High Court, in light of the completion of investigations and Section 17 of the Bail Act. It was held that, in the absence of an application under Section 17 and with investigations concluded, remand should not be extended beyond one year, and bail must be granted, consistent with the principle established in W.R. Wickreamasinghe v. Attorney General. This relied on the statutory framework of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act and the Bail Act No. 30 of 1997, clarifying that continued remand beyond a year is