Senarathne vs. Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Kebithigollawa and Another – sllr 2019 volume 1 page 431

In the case between Senarathne (Plaintiff) and Officer-in-Charge, Police Station, Kebithigollawa and another (Defendants), the court addressed the interpretation of the Assistance to and Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act, focusing on the definitions in Section 8(1)(a) relating to “any person” and “such person.” The case examined whether a petitioner who threatened a complainant to withdraw a complaint fits within these provisions, and whether exceptional circumstances warranted the grant of bail under Section 10(1) of the Act. The court held that a narrow reading of these definitions would defeat the Act’s purpose of protecting victims and witnesses, determining that the petitioner fell within the statutory ambit and that no exceptional circumstances for bail were present. T