Bail application vs Head Quarters Inspector, Police Station, Kalutara South – CA BAL/20/21-2021

In Welivitiyage Asoka v. Head Quarters Inspector, Police Station, Kalutara South and others, the court examined whether bail could be granted under “exceptional circumstances” to suspects charged with witness intimidation under section 8(1) of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act No. 4 of 2015. The suspects were alleged to have coerced a victim into returning a portion of a court-ordered compensation payment, following an attempted murder conviction. The central issue revolved around whether the period of remand, claim of a voluntary act by the victim, and clean criminal record of the suspect constituted exceptional circumstances warranting bail. It was determined that the evidence demonstrated manipulation of the justice process and intimidation, not volu