Lanumoderage Nishanthi v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN: 85/2016-2016

In The Hon. Attorney General v. Lanumoderage Nishanthi, the Court of Appeal addressed whether bail should be granted to the petitioner, who stood accused of possessing and trafficking 637.9 grams of heroin and had remained in remand for over four years. The principal issue considered was whether the petitioner demonstrated “exceptional circumstances” warranting bail or revision of the High Court’s refusal to grant bail, as required by Section 83 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. The court held that neither prolonged pretrial detention, personal hardships, nor disparity with the co-accused sufficed to meet the stringent threshold for bail in serious narcotics cases under prevailing statutes and jurisprudence. The revision application was dismissed, reaffirming the policy