Manikkubadakuruge Saman Priyankara Kumaranath Silva vs The Hon. Attorney General – CA PHC APN 40/2020-2020

In the case between Manikkubadakuruge Saman Priyankara Kumaranath Silva (petitioner/suspect) and the Officer in Charge, Police Station Moratuwa, and the Hon. Attorney General (respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the suspect is entitled to bail under Section 83(1) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act No. 13 of 1984, which requires “exceptional circumstances” for the grant of bail, and whether revisionary relief is available based on alleged illegality, impropriety, or irregularity in the High Court’s refusal of bail. It was held that the grounds relied upon by the petitioner — including inconsistencies in arrest details and delays in indictment — do not amount to “exceptional circumstances” required for bail, and that such matters are to be determined at trial. T