B.M. Lalitha Sadaseeli Perera vs. The Attorney General – NO.CA PHC APN/0097/22-2023

In the case between B.M. Lalitha Sadaseeli Perera (Petitioner on behalf of the accused Hendagoda Priyantha Chandralal) and the Attorney General’s Department (Respondent), the court addressed whether the prolonged delay in trial and extended remand period, exceeding three years, constituted “exceptional circumstances” justifying release on bail for a narcotics-related offence under Article 138 of the Constitution and Section 83 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act. It was determined that lengthy pretrial detention, in the absence of expeditious prosecution, infringes upon the fundamental right to a timely trial, and the continued remand equates to an unjust deprivation of liberty. The ruling reaffirmed the principle that the presumption of innocence remains paramount until convicti