Former President Maithripala Sirisena said his 2019 decision to grant a presidential pardon to Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera was made in accordance with the constitutional powers vested in him during his tenure.
He made the remarks after the Supreme Court on Thursday (10) invalidated the pardon, creating the legal grounds for Gnanasara Thera to be returned to prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.
Responding to questions from journalists, Sirisena said he was not yet fully aware of the Supreme Court’s decision and could not comment on the circumstances surrounding it.
Asked whether the pardon had been granted following proper consideration, he said:
“Yes. I acted constitutionally, according to the circumstances prevailing during my tenure. I cannot say what the current situation is. Under the 19th Amendment, my powers and term of office were reduced. The government that came afterwards changed that and restored the powers that existed under the 18th Amendment. Under those provisions, a President has extensive powers. Therefore, we cannot comment on this matter.”
The case arose from an incident at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court on 25 January 2016, during proceedings relating to the disappearance of journalist Prageeth Eknaligoda ahead of the 2010 Presidential Election.
Although Gnanasara Thera was not a party to the case, he entered the open court without permission and demanded bail for remanded military intelligence personnel. He also insulted Senior State Counsel Dileepa Peiris, calling him an “impotent State official”, and publicly threatened and verbally abused Sandya Eknaligoda.
The Court of Appeal subsequently convicted Gnanasara Thera on four counts of contempt of court. Although the combined sentences imposed on the four charges amounted to 19 years, they were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in a six-year term of rigorous imprisonment.
The sentence was due to end in July 2022. However, it was abruptly suspended in May 2019 following letters and requests submitted to the President.
Prison reports were called for on 21 May, recommendations were prepared on the same day, and then President Sirisena approved the pardon by signing a brief endorsement stating, “Approved.”
The Centre for Policy Alternatives and Sandya Eknaligoda subsequently filed petitions challenging the pardon.
A three-judge Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice Janak de Silva annulled the pardon in a landmark ruling delivered on 10 September 2026.
The Court’s decision was primarily based on three grounds: the power to grant a presidential pardon was not a matter of personal discretion and must be exercised in the public interest; no written reasons had been provided for granting the pardon; and arbitrarily pardoning a person convicted of an offence such as contempt of court violated the right to equality.
Although the President has the power to grant pardons, such a pardon does not erase a judicial conviction or sentence. It merely suspends the enforcement of the punishment.
With the pardon declared legally void, the legal process for returning Gnanasara Thera to prison to serve the remainder of his original six-year sentence is expected to take effect.
