February 03, Colombo (LNW): The Court of Appeal today (03) rejected petitions challenging a decision by the Trincomalee Magistrate’s Court to remand two Buddhist monks in custody over the controversial Buddha statue incident in Trincomalee.
The applications had sought to overturn the remand order imposed on Venerable Balangoda Kassapa Thero and Venerable Trincomalee Kalyanawansa Tissa Thero, who are under investigation in connection with the incident that drew national attention.
The ruling was delivered by a bench comprising the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Rohantha Abesuriya, and Justice Priyantha Fernando. The court confirmed that it found no sufficient grounds to interfere with the magistrate’s earlier determination.
The decision had originally been scheduled for delivery on January 30, 2026 but was deferred after the President of the Court of Appeal indicated that the written order was not finalised at that time. As announced subsequently, the court issued its determination today, effectively allowing the remand order to stand.
Appeal Court Upholds Remand of Monks Over Trincomalee Statue Dispute
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