The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration
The Minister said prison overcrowding and delays in Government Analyst reports were longstanding issues, noting that facilities built for about 10,500 inmates held around 28,000 when the Government took office. He stated that approval had been obtained to recruit 50 officers for the Government Analyst’s Department, with further vacancies to be filled, aiming to issue reports within three months. He also said drug-related bail delays arise because current law sends cases involving over 10 grams to the Court of Appeal before a GA report clarifies jurisdiction, and that amendments are being pursued to allow High Courts to grant bail. He added that voluntary rehabilitation programmes exist under the Ministry of Public Security, while acknowledging complications involving offenders who also possess drugs.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Member, these issues did not begin last year. From around 2005, without vision or consistent policy, the problem escalated. When we assumed office, there were about 28,000 inmates for facilities meant for 10,500. Regarding the GA’s Department: since 2022 no vacancies were filled, no vehicles or resources provided. We have now obtained approval via the Public Service Commission to recruit 50 new officers and will fill further required positions, aiming to deliver GA reports within three months.
¶ 02 On bail in drug cases, prior amendments require bail applications to the Court of Appeal for quantities over 10 grams. Without a GA report, even deciding the proper court for bail is unclear, causing 6–12 month delays. We are moving to change this so High Courts can grant bail.
¶ 03 On rehabilitation, voluntary rehabilitation camps are in place under the Ministry of Public Security. There are complexities where offenders also possess drugs. Nevertheless, we accept the public are harmed by congestion, and we are acting to change this.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Wednesday, 21 January 2026 ·No. 23242 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
- Page · column
- not yet extracted — page/column anchors are not in the current dataset; the source PDF is the citable location.
- Permalink
/lk/speeches/2023
Cite as: The Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Attorney-at-Law - Minister of Justice and National Integration. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 21 January 2026. No. 23242. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/2023