Herath Mudiyanselage Dilani Deepika Kumari Herath v. Hon. Attorney General – HC/BAL/433/2020-2021

In the case between Herath Mudiyanselage Dilani Deepika Kumari Herath and the Hon. Attorney General (among others), the court addressed the issue of whether the High Court’s refusal to grant bail to a suspect under the Poisons Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act No. 13 of 1984 should be overturned on grounds of exceptional circumstances. It was held that the petitioner had failed to demonstrate such exceptional circumstances, and thus the order denying bail was upheld. The court reaffirmed the principle that only circumstances which truly shock the conscience of the court can qualify as “exceptional” under Section 83(1) of the Act, emphasizing that ordinary personal circumstances or procedural delays do not meet this threshold. The decision relied on both statutory interpretation and