The government is preparing an amendment to allow suspects arrested with less than 100 grams of drugs to seek bail from the High Court rather than the Court of Appeal, Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara said, the Daily Mirror reported.
The amendment is to be submitted to Parliament for approval.
What the change would undo
Under legislation enacted in 2022, suspects arrested with more than 10 grams of drugs must apply to the Court of Appeal for bail — a single court sitting in Colombo. The Minister said that requirement has produced long delays in obtaining bail.
The proposed amendment would restore access to the High Court where the net weight at the time of arrest is under 100 grams. The distinction between gross and net weight matters here: the Daily Mirror’s summary describes the threshold in terms of gross weight, while the Minister’s stated formulation turns on net weight. The two are not the same measurement in a drugs case, and the report does not reconcile them.
The reason given is a laboratory backlog, not a policy shift
Nanayakkara framed the amendment as a response to delays in forensic reports rather than as a change in the government’s position on drug offences. Suspects are being held in remand for extended periods while waiting for the analysis that would allow their cases to proceed.
Speaking at the Government Analyst’s Department in Battaramulla, he said the department had 118 vacancies when the present government took office, which made it difficult to issue reports efficiently. Since then:
- around 70 personnel have been recruited;
- officers are working until about 10.00 p.m. to clear the backlog;
- steps have been taken to ensure forensic reports in drug cases are issued within three months.
Context
The occasion is identifiable. The Minister spoke on Tuesday at the Government Analyst’s Department in Battaramulla — the same premises and the same day as the UNDP handover of 17 pieces of forensic equipment to the department’s DNA laboratory, which Nanayakkara attended alongside UNDP Resident Representative Azusa Kubota and the Canadian High Commissioner. Our earlier report noted that a separate discussion he chaired there covered progress in issuing Government Analyst reports and the need for modern testing equipment. Wednesday’s announcement is the policy consequence of that discussion, though neither report connects them.
The department’s capacity has been a recurring thread this year. Acting Government Analyst Kamani Perera said in August that 70 per cent of the department’s reports relate to drugs, with remand cases prioritised to speed up proceedings. A bail threshold tied to laboratory turnaround makes that capacity a direct determinant of how long an unconvicted person spends in prison.
The announcement also runs alongside the government’s stated position on harsher penalties. Health Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said the same week that no decision has been taken to reintroduce the death penalty despite renewed calls to apply it to organised crime.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say when the amendment will be tabled, which statute it amends, or whether the change would apply retrospectively to suspects currently in remand under the 2022 threshold. It does not give the number of people presently held awaiting forensic reports, the current average turnaround time against the three-month target, or how many of the 118 vacancies remain after the 70 recruitments. No reaction from the Bar Association, the Police Narcotics Bureau or prison authorities is reported.
No other verified newsroom had filed on the announcement at the time of writing.
