A luxury house worth Rs. 100 million, located in Bambalapitiya, was forcibly seized by Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thero, the Colombo Magistrate’s Court heard on Thursday.

According to Mawbima newspaper, the Colombo Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasinghe, ordered Gnanasara Thero and two other respondents to immediately vacate the property, which had been unlawfully seized. The Magistrate further warned that failure to comply would lead to action being taken for contempt of court.

The order was issued in a case filed under the Primary Court Procedure Act by Inoka Chandima Senanayake, a resident of Ekala, who claimed that the house located in Bambalapitiya, had been handed over to her by her 82-year-old aunt, Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe, who currently resides in the United States.

The three respondents in the case were identified as Galaboda Aththe Gnanasara Thero of the Sri Saddharma Rajitha Viharaya, Rajagiriya, Dayaseeha Thero (believed to be an aide to Gnanasara Thero), and a person named Sylvester, who serves as the Chairman of residential building in Bambalapitiya.

The petitioner stated in her affidavit that her aunt had lived in the house from 2018 until May 18, 2022, and had been taken care of by her. The petitioner, along with her daughters, Cynthia Kaushali Perera and Rashmi Koshila Perera, also lived in the house with her aunt.

After her aunt left the country on May 18, 2022, she handed over the keys together with all her belongings to the petitioner. However, the petitioner alleged that Gnanasara Thero, along with his aide, began calling her repeatedly, demanding that they vacate the property.

The petitioner further stated that, unable to tolerate the ongoing harassment, she filed a police complaint at the Bambalapitiya Police Station on August 17, 2023. After filing the complaint, she was threatened by security personnel at the house and prevented from entering the premises.

When she sought assistance from the Bambalapitiya Police, an individual who identified himself as an Assistant Superintendent of Police allegedly sided with Gnanasara Thero, verbally abusing her, the court heard.

The case, which was heard for nearly a year, saw Senior Counsel Sandhya Thaldhuwa present extensive arguments on behalf of the petitioner.

The Additional Magistrate ultimately ruled in favor of the petitioner, affirming her right to peaceful and undisturbed possession of the property and ordering the respondents to return control of the house to her.

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