No, Gnanasara Thero Did Not Forcibly Occupy a Bambalapitiya Apartment ; Here Is the Full Story Behind the Posts - Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka English

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When a prominent and controversial religious figure is at the center of a legal dispute involving a luxury apartment, social media rarely waits for the full story. Posts circulated widely claiming that Venerable Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero and his associates had forcibly seized and refused to vacate a high-value property in Bambalapitiya. The claims spread rapidly. Below is what our investigation found.

Social Media Posts :

Posts circulated on social media claiming that Gnanasara Thero and his group had been forcibly evicted from a property they had illegally occupied in Bambalapitiya.

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Following reader requests to investigate, we examined the matter as follows.

Explainer :

A Case Dating Back to 2023

A review of mainstream media coverage reveals that this property dispute has been publicly reported since 2023. On 2 October 2023, a case was filed in the Colombo Additional Magistrate’s Court against Gnanasara Thero and three others. Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasinghe issued notices to all respondents.

The petition stated that Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe, a US resident and the property’s owner, had legally transferred her apartment in the Sharbury Gardens luxury complex in Bambalapitiya to her brother’s daughter, Inoka Senanayake (the complainant). The petition alleged that Gnanasara Thero and the other respondents were preventing Inoka from taking possession of the property. Gnanasara Thero told the court at the time that the property owners had approached him to sell the property and use the proceeds to build a stupa. The 2023 report is available here. Archived Link.

The Recent Court Verdict

On 1 June 2026, the case was called before Colombo High Court Judge Manjula Thilakaratne. The lawyers representing the defendants informed the court that their clients were prepared to transfer ownership of the property to its rightful heirs and vacate the premises. The complainant’s side also informed the court it had no objection to withdrawing the complaint.

The judge, noting the agreement of both parties, formally granted permission to withdraw. Defense counsel further explained that the property had been donated to Gnanasara Thero by a devotee living abroad, and that the Theros’ primary intention had been to sell the apartment and use the proceeds to build a stupa. Media reports on the verdict are available here, here, and here.

A separate Mawbima article from 13 September 2024 had reported that Additional Magistrate Pasan Amarasena ordered Gnanasara Thero and two others on 12 September 2024 to immediately return the apartment, valued at over Rs.100 million, to the complainant. The court warned all respondents that a violation of the order would result in strict punishment under the Code of Criminal Procedure. That report is available here. Archived Link.

Gnanasara Thero’s Lawyer

We contacted Gnanasara Thero’s lawyer by telephone. He stated that the property was neither stolen nor forcibly acquired. It was donated to Gnanasara Thero by Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe, currently a permanent US resident, through a Special Power of Attorney. The lawyer shared that document with us for verification.

Power of Attorney Details

The Power of Attorney, executed by Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe, appoints Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero of Sri Saddharmarajika Viharaya, Nawala Road, Rajagiriya as her legal attorney to act on her behalf in relation to the property. The document authorizes Thero to sell, transfer, and grant the housing unit; evict any tenants or occupants and take full possession; initiate or defend legal proceedings; appear before any court in Sri Lanka; and accept any court-ordered payments.

The document states that all transactions carried out under the authority of this power of attorney will be accepted as legal and valid until official notification of the owner’s death or revocation of the license.

District Court Case by Suneth Rangana

Meanwhile, a person named Suneth Rangana has also filed a case in the Colombo District Court, claiming to be the current owner of the property. He states that after Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe left for the United States in 2022, she granted Gnanasara Thero a Special Power of Attorney dated 10 April 2023 to sell the property for religious purposes. Through that authority, the property was transferred to him by Transfer Deed No. 277, dated 26 May 2023, certified by Notary Public Subramaniam Kamalayogeswaran. He contends that ownership has therefore legally rested with him since 26 May 2023.

Rangana states that when Inoka Chandima Senanayake (the niece of the original owner) filed her case in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court under Section 66(1)(b) of the Primary Courts Procedure Act No. 44 of 1979, she did not disclose that the property had already been sold or that he was its current owner. His application to intervene in that case was also rejected by the Magistrate on grounds of delay.

On 12 September 2024, the Additional Magistrate ordered Gnanasara Thero to hand over possession of the property to Inoka pending a civil court determination on ownership. A revision petition against that decision has been filed by Rangana. He also states that the claim that Inoka and her daughters had been residing in the property is false.

Rangana confirms the property’s electricity and water accounts have since been registered in his name with the Colombo Municipal Council, and he is currently paying all related bills. He also noted that Gnanasara Thero has been named as a party to the District Court case because he acted as the original owner’s attorney in completing the transfer.

Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero

The news related to this matter was released to the media based on false facts, which has caused great embarrassment for me and our temple.

“Mrs. Sumithra Weerasinghe Senanayake continuously helped with the financial affairs of our organization from late 2012 to 2022. She was instrumental not only in the organization but also in the upkeep of our temple.”

Currently, there is only a Sangha vasa in our temple. Since no temple, pagoda, or Dhamma hall has been built, Mrs. Sumithra made great efforts to fulfill that need.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Sumithra said that her two sons living in America were pressuring her to move to America hence suggested selling her apartment and using that money to start work on a temple.

Before leaving for America, she tried several times to transfer the property to me (Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero), but my suggestion was that it would be appropriate to talk to her two children and do this with their blessings.

Accordingly, she went to America, spoke with the children, and a power of attorney was sent to me. After it was registered a relative, at her request, came to our temple and handed over the keys. After that, I renovated the house and tried to sell it at Mrs. Sumithra’s request.

“Therefore, the news being shared recently is untrue. I will take legal action against all those who published false news.” said Gnanasara Thero.

“I have no rights to that property. It has been sold for more than a year. According to a complaint filed by a woman who was temporarily looking after the house, the woman filed a case with the intention of obtaining money.”

“Due to a delay on the part of the buyer in the litigation, the court ordered a higher court to rule on the ownership, and there was no commotion or riot of the kind reported in the news report.”

The Original Owner — Mrs. Sunethra

The original owner, Mrs. Sunethra, is currently in Sri Lanka. We reached her through mutual contact. She stated that after she went abroad, she left the keys to her Falcon Residencies apartment with a friend. Her brother’s daughter, Inoka, said she would be visiting Colombo and asked for access. Before the keys could be formally handed over, Inoka had already broken the locks and entered the property.

Mrs. Sunethra confirmed that she later entrusted the property to Gnanasara Thero through a power of attorney with the intention of selling it to fund a stupa, and that the property was sold to a person named Suneth with her full knowledge and consent. After the sale, Inoka vacated the property and handed the keys to Gnanasara Thero. The new owner then rented out the apartment to a third party.

Mrs. Sunethra stated that Inoka subsequently submitted fraudulent documents to the court to claim ownership, without disclosing that the property had already been sold, and that false information was then spread on social media falsely alleging that Gnanasara Thero had forcibly acquired the property.

NB: Our investigation only establishes that social media posts and some mainstream media reports, claiming that Gnanasara Thero forcibly occupied this property are false and misleading. The property was donated to Gnanasara Thero by its owner through a Power of Attorney, with the intention of funding the construction of a stupa. It was subsequently sold to a third party with the owner’s consent. The aggrieved party states that her brother’s daughter filed a claim in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court using forged documents. We will update this report with confirmed information on court decisions as they become available.

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Conclusion :

Our investigation confirms that the social media posts claiming Galagoda Aththe Gnanasara Thero forcibly occupied a Bambalapitiya luxury apartment are misleading. The property was legally donated to Gnanasara Thero by its owner, Sumithra Senanayake Weerasinghe, through a Special Power of Attorney, for the purpose of selling it to fund religious construction. The property was sold with the owner’s consent. The High Court case was withdrawn on 1 June 2026 after both parties reached agreement.