ජනපති සමාව Reverse ඥානසාර හිමි නැවත ඇතුළට

The Supreme Court has nullified the presidential pardon granted in 2019 by former President Maithripala Sirisena to Venerable Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, the General Secretary of the Bodu Bala Sena organization, ruling that it was arbitrary and contrary to law.

This statement was made by a three-member Supreme Court bench led by Justice Janak de Silva, after considering the fundamental rights petitions filed by Sandhya Ekneligoda, the wife of disappeared journalist Prageeth Ekneligoda, and others including the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).

In relation to the contempt of court incident that occurred when the Prageeth Ekneligoda disappearance case was called at the Homagama Magistrate's Court, the Court of Appeal had sentenced Gnanasara Thero to 19 years of rigorous imprisonment, ordered to be served concurrently within 6 years.

Subsequently, this sentence was also upheld by the Supreme Court in October 2018, and he, who was serving a six-year rigorous imprisonment, was released from Welikada Prison on May 23, 2019, under a special pardon granted by the then President. Since the 6-year prison sentence was removed in 7 months, the Thero will be imprisoned for the remaining 5 years and 5 months upon re-entry.