Supreme Court invalidates Maithripala Sirisena's 2019 pardon of Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero
Regarding Maithripala Sirisena
What happened?
On 10 September 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that then-President Maithripala Sirisena acted arbitrarily and beyond his constitutional authority in granting a 2019 presidential pardon to Ven. Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, who had been convicted of contempt of court and sentenced to a total of 19 years' imprisonment (concurrent over 6 years) for disrupting court proceedings and insulting the judiciary. The Court found the pardon violated constitutional procedures for clemency, the Public Trust Doctrine, natural justice and the constitutional guarantee of equality.
What changed?
This is the first legal matter recorded for Sirisena on Nadu. It is a constitutional/fundamental-rights judgment concerning an official act he took as President - not a criminal charge, case, or conviction against him personally, and it does not reopen or reverse Gnanasara Thero's own underlying conviction.
What happens next?
No confirmed next step yet. No further legal action against Sirisena personally has been reported as a result of this judgment.
The case
People involved
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