The Mahanayake Theras of Sri Lanka’s main Buddhist chapters have asked the Commissioner General of Prisons to let Ven. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara Thera appear in court in his robes, in a letter sent this week.
They said the removal of a monk’s robes cannot be treated as an administrative matter under prison rules, and that the authority over a monk’s status rests with the relevant Nikaya or Sangha Sabha. According to the letter, the Sangha Sabha has not found that he committed a Parajika offence or decided that he should be disrobed.
The Mahanayake Theras cited Regulation 550 of the Prison Standing Orders and Rule 17(3) of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. They said both allow prisoners taken outside prison to wear their own clothing, which for a monk means robes.
Gnanasara Thera is serving the remainder of a prison sentence. The Prisons Department has said the action followed prison regulations, and that prisoners serving sentences of more than three years must be produced before court in department-issued clothing.
The Mahanayake Theras asked for arrangements to be made so that he can appear in his robes at future hearings.
