The Supreme Court yesterday (10) ruled that the Presidential pardon granted by former President Maithripala Sirisena to Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) General Secretary Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera is invalid.

The ruling was delivered after the Court considered Fundamental Rights petitions filed by several parties, including Sandhya Eknaligoda, the wife of missing journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda.

Gnanasara Thera had been convicted by the Court of Appeal in 2018 on four charges of contempt of Court and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment. He was subsequently released after Sirisena granted him a Presidential pardon on 23 May 2019.

The petitions challenging the pardon were filed by Eknaligoda and the Centre for Policy Alternatives, with the Supreme Court granting leave to proceed with the petitions in October 2023.

The latest ruling means that the Presidential pardon granted to the monk cannot be upheld, with the Court determining that the decision was invalid.

Gnanasara Thera is also currently facing other legal proceedings. In June this year, the Colombo High Court upheld a nine-month prison sentence imposed on him in a separate case over remarks allegedly insulting Islam.