Ramyalatha Nanayakkara vs. The Hon. Attorney General – CA BAL 0163/2023-2023

In the matter of Ramyalatha Nanayakkara v. The Hon. Attorney General’s Department and the Officer-in-Charge, Modera Police Station, Mattakkuliya, the court addressed the issue of whether exceptional circumstances exist under Section 83(2) of the amended Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Act No. 41 of 2022) to justify granting bail to the accused despite the seriousness of the charges and the significant quantity of Heroin involved. It was held that the lengthy remand period, procedural delays in preparing the indictment, and discrepancies in the arrest accounts justified a finding of exceptional circumstances. The court reaffirmed the principle that the presumption of innocence under the Constitution and the right to bail under exceptional circumstances should prevail even in s