Senior Buddhist monk seeks to intervene in Suresh Salley’s writ petition

President of the Pasyodunrata Bauddha Sammelanaya and Principal of the historic Kande Vihara Maha Pirivena Ven. Rajakeeya Panditha Dapane Sri Mahinda Thero, has filed an application before the Court of Appeal seeking to be added as an intervening petitioner in the writ application filed by Major General (Rtd.) Suresh Sallay challenging the legality of his arrest and detention.

The intervention is made in the public interest and does not seek to obstruct any lawful investigation. Instead, it urges the Court to consider the wider constitutional and societal implications arising from attempts to reshape the established narrative of the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.

The application highlights the following key points: The Supreme Court and the Presidential Commission of Inquiry identified the Easter Sunday attacks as being carried out by Zahran Hashim and the ISIS-inspired National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ), while attributing responsibility to State officials for failing to act on prior intelligence.

According to this petition, none of the official investigations or judicial findings implicated Major General Suresh Sallay in planning or facilitating the Easter attacks. The Presidential Commission recorded that Major General Sallay had warned authorities about the rise of Islamist extremism before the attacks.

The intervening petition expresses concern that unproven allegations have created a public narrative suggesting a wider conspiracy involving Sinhala Buddhist military and intelligence officers, contrary to the findings of the Supreme Court and the Presidential Commission.

The petition argues that such unsupported narratives risk undermining public confidence, damaging communal harmony, and unfairly tarnishing the reputation of individuals and institutions without credible evidentiary foundation.

The application respectfully requests the Court to hear the Sangha’s perspective on the broader constitutional and public-interest issues while considering the legality of Major General Sallay’s detention under PTA.