Sri Lanka's Supreme Court Strikes Down Monk's Presidential Pardon

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has annulled a controversial presidential pardon extended to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, a divisive Buddhist monk. This ruling, made on September 10, 2026, marks a rare instance of the judiciary overriding an executive pardon.

The pardon was originally granted by former President Maithripala Sirisena in May 2019 while Gnanasara Thero was serving a prison sentence for contempt of court and criminal intimidation. The ruling came after a challenge from the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) and Sandya Eknaligoda, the wife of missing political cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda, who has been unaccounted for since 2010.

The Supreme Court deemed the presidential pardon as “arbitrary,” effectively nullifying it, which highlights the tension between the Buddhist clergy's political influence and the judiciary's role in upholding the law in a predominantly Sinhala Buddhist nation. Gnanasara Thero, who gained notoriety for his inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric, has been a significant figure in Sri Lanka's religious and political landscape since founding the hardline Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) in 2012.

His history includes a dramatic courtroom incident in 2016, where he threatened Eknaligoda during a hearing related to her missing husband. In recent years, despite facing legal repercussions, he was appointed to a Presidential Task Force under Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration, a move that drew criticism from human rights organizations. In 2024, he received a four-year prison sentence for inciting hatred against Muslims, although he was later released on bail.

Source: www.thehindu.com