Athurusinhage Shyamali Sandamali vs. The Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Mount Lavinia – CA BAL/374/2023-2024

In the case between Athurusinhage Shyamali Sandamali (petitioner, wife of the suspect) and The Officer-in-Charge, Police Station Mount Lavinia and the Hon. Attorney General (respondents), the court addressed the issue of bail under section 83(2) of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Act No. 41 of 2022 in the context of allegations involving possession of an automatic firearm and narcotics. It was held that discrepancies in the police reports concerning the date, location of arrest, and recovery of narcotics constituted “exceptional circumstances” justifying the grant of bail notwithstanding the statutory bar. The principle that “exceptional circumstances” may be established through substantive inconsistencies in material evidence was reaffirmed, with reference to relevant c