The Hon. (Mrs.) Chamindranee Kiriella, Attorney-at-Law
Hon. Chamindranee Kiriella highlighted prison overcrowding, noting around 37,761 inmates, including approximately 27,000 remandees, and attributed the situation partly to court delays and inability to pay bail or fines. She asked whether the Government would consider measures such as bail funds and good-behaviour remissions, citing South Africa’s recent bail fund, to reduce remand populations and the estimated daily cost of Rs. 1,000 per inmate.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Thank you. System-wide overcrowding persists, with roughly 37,761 inmates including about 27,000 remandees. Delays in case disposal and inability to pay bail or fines contribute. Other countries deploy measures such as bail funds and good-behaviour remissions. South Africa recently launched a bail fund. Given it costs about Rs. 1,000 per inmate per day, would you consider similar measures here to reduce costs and remand populations?
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 20 January 2026 ·No. 23200 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Mrs.) Chamindranee Kiriella, Attorney-at-Law. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 January 2026. No. 23200. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8916