Sarukkali Patabendige Tashma vs The Attorney General – BR 632/21-2023

In the case between the Petitioner (the wife of the Suspect, applying for bail) and the Attorney General’s Department, Officer-in-Charge of the Anti-Corruption Unit, Matara, and the Officer-in-Charge, Police Narcotics Bureau, Colombo-01, the issue concerned the grant of bail under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance following the seizure of a commercial quantity of heroin (178.32 grams). The court held that bail should not be granted, determining that the severity of the offence, risk of absconding, and the commercial scale of the drug possession outweighed considerations raised by the Petitioner, including prolonged remand custody exceeding two years and the Suspect’s role as sole breadwinner. Emphasis was placed on the interpretation of “exceptional circumstances” under Sect