The Hon. Attorney General Vs. Madapathage Dona Thilaka Alias Shyamali – SC APPEAL 53/2022-2022

In the case between the Hon. Attorney General, Attorney General’s Department, Colombo 12 (Complainant-Respondent-Appellant) and Madapathage Dona Thilaka Alias Shyamali (Accused-Petitioner-Respondent), the court addressed whether the Court of Appeal erred in granting bail on moral grounds under Section 83 of the Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance. It was held that “morality” does not constitute an exceptional circumstance for the grant of bail in such cases, reaffirming the principle that bail for serious drug offences should be granted only upon strict legal grounds explicitly recognized by statute, not on subjective criteria. The decision relied on the precise language of Section 83 and established case law governing exceptional circumstances for bail, emphasizing that exception