Former Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena has acknowledged a procedural error in the granting of a presidential pardon to Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, saying the relevant documents were not submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Prisons for approval before his signature was obtained.
In a press release dated 19 October 2026, Sirisena said an official in charge of the legal division of the Presidential Secretariat had informed him that approval from the ministry was required for the pardon. However, the request was never forwarded, and the pardon proceeded without the ministry’s approval.
Sirisena said the failure was brought to his attention after he studied a copy of the court judgment obtained from the internet. He issued the statement after receiving inquiries from Buddhist monks, journalists and members of the public about the technical defect identified in the case.
“The decision of the court is correct, and I respect that decision,” Sirisena said in the statement, referring to the court’s decision that resulted in Gnanasara Thero being imprisoned again.
The former president said the judgment recorded that a technical defect in documents submitted to the court by the Presidential Secretariat had contributed to the monk’s earlier release. He attributed the administrative failure to the additional senior secretary responsible for the legal division during his presidency.
According to Sirisena, the legal division’s senior official had advised him that the cases against Gnanasara Thero needed to be referred to the Ministry of Justice and Prisons to obtain approval for the presidential pardon. The necessary request, however, was not sent to the ministry. Instead, Sirisena said, the documents were prepared and his signature was obtained without the required approval.
“That was a misleading of me,” he said in the statement, acknowledging that he had been misled over the process.
The press release identified two cases against Gnanasara Thero in the Homagama Magistrate’s Court. The first, Case B 7417/10, concerned contempt of court under Article 105 of the Constitution and obstruction of court proceedings. The second was Case No. 40042.
Sirisena said the legal and administrative error had led to the court proceedings through which Gnanasara Thero was sent back to prison. He linked the case to a complaint filed by Sandya Ekneligoda through an organisation associated with Pakiasothy Saravanamuttu. The statement did not provide further details about the proceedings or the specific legal findings beyond the technical defect involving the documents.
The former president apologised to the Buddhist Maha Sangha for the error, while maintaining that the failure had occurred among officials serving in his administration.
“Although this incident was committed by my officials at the time, I apologise to the venerable Maha Sangha for the fault that has occurred,” he said.
Sirisena said he had issued the statement in response to repeated requests for clarification about the procedural defect cited in the judgment. His account places the failure to obtain ministerial approval at the centre of the controversy surrounding the pardon.
