Maha Sangha Did Not Issue a Statement After Meeting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake

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At a time when public attention was fixed on Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thero, who had been produced in court in lay clothes instead of his robes while serving a prison sentence, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake held a special meeting with the Maha Sangha representing the three chapters on 8 October 2026.

A social media posts soon began circulating, claiming that the Maha Sangha had issued a statement after the meeting, admitting they had misunderstood the issue and thanking the President for explaining civil and criminal law. Here is the post that carried the claim, and what we found when we checked it.

Social Media Post:

The post claimed that the Maha Sangha had issued a statement saying they had not understood the matter until now, that the President had explained civil law and criminal law to them, and that they blessed the President for giving them that opportunity. It was published with a photograph of the President speaking with the Maha Sangha after the meeting.

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We investigated the accuracy of this post.

Claim under test:

After the discussion with the President on 8 October 2026, the Maha Sangha issued a statement saying they had been under a misunderstanding until then and that the President had explained civil and criminal law to them.

Fact-Check:

The President met the Maha Sangha on 8 October 2026 at the Presidential Secretariat

The meeting discussed the letter that the Mahanayake Theras sent to the Commissioner General of Prisons after the Prisons Department removed Gnanasara Thero’s robes and produced him in lay clothes, as well as the social impact and the steps to be taken in future. According to the President’s Media Division (PMD) release issued the same day, seven named prelates of the three chapters attended, along with the Ministers of Buddhasasana and Justice. The President’s remarks can be viewed on the PMD’s Facebook page and in news broadcasts.

The President explained the prison legal framework, not civil and criminal law

According to the PMD release, the President explained the Prisons Ordinance of 1877, the regulations issued by the Minister under Section 94, and the standing orders issued by the Commissioner General of Prisons.

He said monks are specifically mentioned only in Regulation 216, that the issue does not arise for remand prisoners, that a prisoner serving simple imprisonment may choose clothing with the approval of the prison superintendent, and that a prisoner serving rigorous imprisonment must wear the clothing supplied by the prison.

The President also pointed out that orders are not issued for individuals when a law exists, and that a flawed law should be properly amended. The terms “civil law” and “criminal law” do not appear anywhere in that release.

No report shows the Maha Sangha issued such a statement after the talks

Our searches up to 9 October 2026 found no mention, in the PMD release, in news reports or anywhere else, of the Maha Sangha issuing a statement like the one in the viral post.

The official release says the Maha Sangha expressed gratitude and blessings, not a past misunderstanding

The PMD release and news reports state that the Maha Sangha who attended, on behalf of the Mahanayake Theras, expressed gratitude and blessings to the President for acting quickly on sensitive issues. The part of the post about thanking the President is therefore partly true. However, the thanks were for the steps taken to find quick solutions to the problems, not for “giving this opportunity”.

Before the meeting, the Mahanayake Theras said removing the robes was not merely an administrative matter

In their letter to the Commissioner General of Prisons, the Mahanayake Theras pointed out that removing the robes could not be treated as a purely administrative matter and that it fell within the religious authority of the Bhikkhu Sangha, according to news reports. We found no evidence that this position changed after the discussion.

A senior monk who attended the meeting said the viral post is false

We asked Ven. Mahawela Rathanapala Nayaka Thero, Deputy Registrar of the Malwathu Maha Viharaya chapter of the Siam Maha Nikaya, who took part in the meeting, whether the Maha Sangha had issued a statement afterwards. He said no statement was issued after the talks and that the post circulating on social media was false.

The Thero said the discussion lasted about one and a half hours. The Maha Sangha told the President that a monk who had worn the robes for about 40 years and had been ordained through the upasampada had faced this situation not because of any anti-social act, breach of discipline or offence that ends monkhood.

The Maha Sangha also said the matter should not be treated as limited to that one monk, since other monks could face the same situation in future, and pointed to the need for a proper legal framework. They proposed a system to notify the relevant chapter whenever a monk is imprisoned.

“We proposed that once a monk is imprisoned, the relevant chapter should be informed, along with the procedure to follow when he is taken out. The Sangha assembly would examine the case record and decide whether the monk should be taken out in robes or in lay clothes,” the Thero said.

The committee the President announced was appointed the same day

During the discussion, the President said a committee would be appointed to amend the rules on how monks are held in prison and taken out of it. The committee was to submit its amendments within two weeks, and the provisions affecting monks would be revised in consultation with the Maha Sangha. According to a second PMD announcement, the committee was appointed on 8 October 2026, the same day.

Its named members are officials from the Ministries of Buddhasasana, Justice and Public Administration, the Commissioner General of Buddhist Affairs and a Commissioner of the Department of Prisons.

Gnanasara Thero returned to prison after the Supreme Court invalidated the presidential pardon

On 25 January 2016, while the case on the disappearance of Prageeth Ekneligoda was being heard at the Homagama Magistrate’s Court, contempt of court charges were brought against Gnanasara Thero over acts including speaking in court without permission. On 8 August 2018, the Court of Appeal found him guilty and sentenced him to 19 years of rigorous imprisonment, ordered to be served over six years. On 23 May 2019, then President Maithripala Sirisena granted him a presidential pardon.

The Supreme Court considered fundamental rights petitions filed by Sandya Ekneligoda and other parties against the pardon and, in a judgment reported on 10 September 2026, ruled that the pardon was invalid in law. In late September 2026, the Court of Appeal issued warrants for the arrest of Gnanasara Thero, who had not appeared before it, and imposed a foreign travel ban on him.

Officers of the Colombo Crimes Division arrested him on the night of 3 October 2026 at a forest monastery in Theeniyawala, Kalutara. He was produced before the Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court on 4 October and remanded until 5 October. On 5 October, the Court of Appeal ordered that his six-year prison sentence be enforced.

On 6 October 2026, Gnanasara Thero appeared before the Colombo High Court in a case filed by the Attorney General over remarks allegedly made about Islam. His appearance in prison clothing instead of monastic robes drew wide public attention. The case is ongoing and the charges have not been proven. Following the incident, the Mahanayake Theras expressed their concern in a letter to the Commissioner General of Prisons. Further details: BBC Sinhala, Ada Derana and a video report.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation found no evidence that the Maha Sangha issued a statement after meeting President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 8 October 2026, saying they had misunderstood the matter until then and that the President had explained civil and criminal law.

According to the official release of the President’s Media Division, the President explained the prison legal framework, and the Maha Sangha expressed gratitude and blessings for the steps taken to find quick solutions. The part of the post about thanking the President is therefore partly true. The key claims, that a statement was issued and that the monks had been under a misunderstanding, are not supported.

Ven. Mahawela Rathanapala Nayaka Thero, who took part in the meeting, also told us that the Maha Sangha issued no statement after the discussion and that the post is false.