Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-01-16

Amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No.15 of 1979 to dispense with the requirement of producing of a suspect/accused in person to court at identified specific instances

- Every suspect taken into custody should be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours and where such suspect is committed to remand custody without granting bail, such detainee should be produced in the Magistrate's Court for the extension of the order generally once in two (02) weeks. Further, even in circumstances in which the Magistrate does not have the jurisdiction to grant bail, the suspect/accused person should be produced before the Magistrate from time to time.

Taking into consideration the delays in the judicial process and especially the unfortunate incidents that occurred while transporting the detainees to the Court, the life threats against the detainees and the opportunities for them to flee away from custody, focus has been drawn for limiting the instances of taking the suspects/accused before Court. As such, in accordance with the recommendations of the Special Committee appointed for the above amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, while further maintaining the requirement of monitoring the welfare of the detainee, the proposal made by Hon. (Mrs.) Thalatha Atukorala, the Minister of Justice, to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No.15 of 1979, to introduce a procedure which does not require a suspect or an accused person to be produced in person before the Magistrate under identified specific instances for the purpose of extending the order relating to the committal to remand custody, was approved by the Cabinet.