The Government has started the process of amending Sri Lanka’s drug laws to allow suspects accused of certain narcotics offences to seek bail from the High Court, Justice and National Integration Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said.The Minister said that relatives of detainees had complained of lengthy delays in securing bail because suspects in cases involving more than 10 grammes of pure narcotics were required to apply to the Court of Appeal.

“We will submit an amendment to the Cabinet. This will restore the possibility of obtaining bail from the High Court for certain drug-related offences,” Nanayakkara said.The Poisons, Opium and Dangerous Drugs Ordinance No.17 of 1929, as amended by Act No.41 of 2022, regulates offences involving substances including heroin, cocaine, morphine, cannabis, opium, and methamphetamine.Rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns that stringent bail restrictions and delays in the legal process have contributed to prolonged detention and severe overcrowding in prisons.

Committee for Protecting Rights of Prisoners (CPRP) Chairman Senaka Perera claimed that approximately 65% of Sri Lanka’s prison population comprised people detained or convicted over drug-related offences. He said those affected by drug dependence should receive medical treatment instead of being imprisoned.“Most of those currently in prisons are people affected by drug dependence. The best way to help them recover is to direct them to medical treatment rather than imprisoning them,” Perera told The Sunday Morning.

He also highlighted delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports, claiming that detainees could remain incarcerated for between six months and a year while awaiting the reports required for their cases.

Perera said that the existing legal framework should be revised to prevent prolonged detention, ease prison overcrowding, and distinguish people requiring treatment from those involved in organised drug trafficking.

Nanayakkara said that delays in obtaining Government Analyst reports had been among the principal complaints raised by inmates over the past year, as suspects were unable to apply for bail without them.

He stated that the Government had identified the problem last year and begun taking corrective action. The Government Analyst’s Department had 118 staff vacancies, preventing it from issuing reports efficiently and forcing some suspects to remain in remand custody for nearly a year while awaiting their reports.

The Minister said that around 70 employees were now being recruited, while new equipment was expected to arrive this month to accelerate the process.

According to Nanayakkara, these measures are expected to enable the department to issue between 7,500 and 9,000 reports a month.