A writ application has been filed in the Court of Appeal seeking to quash the decision by prison authorities to remove the robes of the imprisoned Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera, Hiru News reported.
The application was filed by Venerable Theeniyawala Palitha Thera.
What the petition asks for
The respondents named include the Commissioner General of Prisons, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara, the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice, and Buddhasasana and Religious Affairs Minister Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, among others.
The petitioning monk argues that Article 9 of the Constitution places on the State the duty to protect and foster Buddhism, and that the prison authorities’ decision breaches prison regulations and runs contrary to Buddhist disciplinary codes.
He asks the court to issue a writ quashing the decision, and to quash any prison regulation or circular that compels such an action. The application also seeks an interim order restraining the respondents from removing the Thera’s robes.
A lay organisation weighs in
Separately, the ‘Rata Rakina Parapura’ organisation issued a media statement opposing the removal of the robes for court appearances, Hiru reported.
The group said that while court rulings must be enforced and Gnanasara Thera is not above the law, state institutions should not have unlimited power to insult a monk’s robes. It called for an immediate public explanation of the full legal and administrative basis for the decision, and for a published procedure governing how prisons and state bodies deal with Buddhist monks.
Where this sits
The robes dispute has been running for over a week. Senior prelates questioned the decision in early October, and the President subsequently appointed a committee to examine prison attire rules for ordained prisoners. This Court of Appeal writ is a separate track from a fundamental rights petition reported earlier in the week on the same subject.
Not reported
Hiru does not say when the Court of Appeal will take up the application or whether the interim order has been granted. It does not carry a response from the Department of Prisons, the Justice Ministry or the Buddhasasana Ministry, and does not state which prison regulation the petitioner says was breached. Both filings come from the same newsroom; no other verified outlet’s account of the writ was available at the time of writing.
Sources: Hiru News — writ application, Hiru News — organisation’s statement.
