Ranil Charuka Kulathunga v. The Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN 134/2015-2016

In the case between Ranil Charuka Kulathunga (Petitioner, 2nd Accused) and The Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department (Respondent, Complainant), the issue concerned whether the Petitioner, denied bail in the High Court on charges of trafficking and possessing a commercial quantity of cocaine, was entitled to have the bail refusal set aside by way of revision before the Court of Appeal. It was held that the absence of “exceptional circumstances” precluded the exercise of the Court of Appeal’s revisionary jurisdiction and the grant of bail as prescribed under the Poison Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance and relevant case law. The decision reaffirmed that revisionary powers should be exercised sparingly and only in exceptional cases, especially in serious drug-related offenses