Selva Kumar Ranjith v. The Attorney General – CA PHC APN 142/2022-2023

In the case between Selva Kumar Ranjith (Accused-Petitioner) and the Attorney General’s Department (Complainant-Respondent), the court addressed whether prolonged remand custody exceeding four years, extensive trial delays, and contested credibility of prosecution witnesses constituted “exceptional circumstances” justifying bail under the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Act. It was held that excessive and oppressive delay, in conjunction with case-specific issues, amounted to exceptional circumstances sufficient to grant bail. This determination reaffirmed the principle that prolonged and unjustified pre-trial detention, when coupled with factors such as questionable witness reliability, could warrant deviation from statutory restrictions on bail. The judgment relied on legal precedents