The Malwathu Maha Viharaya Sangha Sabha has suspended Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thero from the post of Chief Sanghanayaka of Nuwarakalaviya — the position of Atamasthanadhipathi at Anuradhapura — pending the outcome of the criminal case against him, NewsFirst reported on Saturday.

A statement issued under the signature of the Registrar of the Malwathu Chapter, Ven. Dr. Pahamune Sumangala Thero, said the Atamasthana Committee had on the directives of the Sangha Sabha appointed Ven. Eethalawetunuwewe Gnanathilaka Thero — Chief Sanghanayaka of the North Central Province and Chief Incumbent of the Ruwanweli Seya — to temporarily oversee the duties of the Atamasthanadhipathi. The Sangha Sabha had earlier “looked into the allegations levelled against Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thero and summoned the relevant parties to inquire into the matter,” NewsFirst reported.

The decision was announced on the directives of the Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Sumangala Mahanayake Thero of the Malwathu Chapter, and will remain in effect “until the ongoing legal proceedings regarding the allegations against Ven. Pallegama Hemarathana Thero are concluded and a final verdict is reached.” Ada Derana and Newswire carried the appointment of Gnanathilaka Thero as confirmation of the formal Malwathu Maha Viharaya statement.

The action is the first formal disciplinary step by the Malwathu chapter — one of the two seats of the Siyam Nikaya and the seniormost monastic authority on the Sangha Sabha — against Hemarathana Thero since his April arrest under the Children and Young Persons Ordinance. He has been the subject of ongoing legal proceedings, was granted bail by Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court on May 22 after the Colombo Fort court extended his remand on May 13, and his case has prompted a civil-society child-protection statement and a public response from the NCPA.

The Atamasthanadhipathi is the chief incumbent of the eight ancient sacred sites of Anuradhapura, a position held by senior Siyam Nikaya monks and rarely vacated except on death or formal incapacity. Gnanathilaka Thero’s parallel role at the Ruwanweli Seya — the third-century BCE great stupa attributed to King Dutugemunu — gives the acting appointment doctrinal weight while the criminal proceedings continue.

Sources: NewsFirst · Ada Derana · Newswire.