Pearl Mirani Anderson vs. Hon. Attorney General and The Officer-in-Charge – CA BAIL 74/2023-2023

In the case between the mother of Vas Ranga Nalaka Peiris (petitioner) and the Attorney General’s Department alongside the Police Narcotics Bureau (respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether bail should be granted to an accused charged with serious drug offences under Section 83(2) of the amended Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. The court held that the purported factual discrepancies regarding the arrest and the extension of remand do not amount to “exceptional circumstances” required for the grant of bail, especially considering the severity of the offences and the substantial risk of absconding. The principle reaffirmed was that the threshold of “exceptional circumstances” must be objectively satisfied, particularly in grave narcotics cases, drawing on relevant s