Forty seven drug cases: Magistrate proposes bail to suspects

Kapila Somaratne Panadura group correspondent

Panadura Magistrate Thushara Rajasinghe on March 28 proposed the granting of bail to suspects held in connection with 47 drug cases following objections raised by Senior State Counsel Chamath Dileepa Pieris.

State counsel Pieris said he personally appeared before Court on the Attorney General's Instructions to raise objections in all 47 cases. On grounds that a Magistrate did not have jurisdiction to release suspects involved in drug cases if they were in possession or trafficking less than one gram of heroin.

The jurisdictions is with the Higher Court to grant bail on such suspects.

Pieris said, the Magistrate does not have judicial powers to order the release of suspects in drugs and heroin cases under the Opium Poison and Heroin Drugs Amended Act.

According to the Act, the exclusive powers are vested with the Higher Court but not with the Magistrate's Court. The Magistrate had already released one suspect involved in a drug case stating that he was in remand for more than one year for possessing less than one gram of Heroin.

The Attorney General would file a petition appealing against the release of this suspect. The Senior State Counsel stated that this suspect had been released on April 19, according to the records.

The Magistrate admitted that he wished to order bail on suspects in 47 Drug cases as these suspects were in remand for over a one year period.

The Senior State Council cited a judgement in the New Law Report. He said the Magistrate's Court do not have judicial powers to order the release of suspects who were remanded in connection with Heroin cases.

He said he arrived in Court as a result of information given to the Attorney General by the Panadura Police Narcotics Unit that the Magistrate had written orders in 47 drug cases to release the suspects on bail as they were in remand for more than one year.

The Magistrate granted a further date to the Senior State Counsel to submit more details regarding the matter in question by way of submission.

Accused were further remanded. The Magistrate did not pronounce the orders to release the 47 suspects in the Heroin cases who were in remand for more than one year.

The case will be called on May 21, 2009.