Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2019-05-07

Amendment to the relevant Acts dispensing with the requirement of personal attendance of suspects/accused persons in court where necessary

- Due to the fact that the legal requirement of producing detainees before the Court once in a fortnight in order to extend the order relating to the committal to remand custody and thereby placing the said prisoners, prison staff and the public is considerably a risky situation, the approval of the Cabinet had been granted previously to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure Act, No. 15 of 1979 to dispense with the aforesaid legal requirement under special circumstances. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. (Mrs.) Thalatha Atukorala, Minister of Justice & Prison Reforms to publish the draft bill prepared for dispensing with the requirement of personal attendance of suspects/ accused persons in Court, under identified circumstances, in the Government Gazette and present the same thereafter, in Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.