Attorney General vs Kompannage Asanka Chanaka Fonseka – CA PHC APN NO. 62/2019-2019

In The Attorney General and Officer-in-Charge, Organised Crime Division, Mihindu Mawatha, Colombo 12 (Respondent-Petitioners) v. Kompannage Asanka Chanaka Fonseka (Suspect-Respondent), the court addressed the application of “exceptional circumstances” under Section 83(1) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance concerning the grant of bail for a suspect charged with possession of 1.010 kg of heroin. It was determined that the High Court had failed to correctly interpret and apply the requisite legal standards for “exceptional circumstances,” particularly regarding medical evidence and fair procedural opportunity. The holding established that reliance on insufficient grounds such as broad claims of illness and family hardship was legally inadequate, and procedural safeguards were