Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya yesterday withdrew from the bench hearing petitions challenging the decision by prison authorities to require Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thera to wear prison attire following his imprisonment.
The decision was announced when the petitions seeking to invalidate the prison authorities’ decision were taken up for consideration on October 14.
Following his withdrawal, a three-judge bench was appointed to hear the petitions.
The petitions relate to the prison authorities’ decision to require Gnanasara Thera to wear prison attire after he was taken into custody to serve the remainder of his sentence for contempt of court.
In September this year, the Supreme Court annulled the presidential pardon granted to Gnanasara Thera by former President Maithripala Sirisena in May 2019.
Following the ruling, the Court of Appeal directed the Commissioner General of Prisons to take the necessary steps to enforce the remainder of the monk’s prison sentence.
Gnanasara Thera had originally been sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for contempt of court but had served only around nine months before receiving the presidential pardon in 2019.