Court orders psychological assessment for controversial Sri Lankan monk

July 10, 2025 at 1:20 PM

The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court has instructed that Sri Lankan monk, Venerable Rajangane Saddharathana Thera, be subjected to a psychological assessment.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) was instructed to subject the monk to an examination at the Colombo National Hospital and submit a report in this regard. 

The court yesterday also ordered to examine if a video published on the monk’s YouTube channel contains any expletive language, and for the CID to file a report in this regard.

Venerable Rajangane Saddharathana Thera is currently on conditional bail, which prohibits him from using expletive language.

He was released on bail in July last year after having been arrested and remanded over the incident of making comments harmful to religious co-existence and disrespectful to Buddhism. 

In April this year, the Karaka Sabha of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya decided to expel Ven. Rajangane Saddharathana Thera from the Buddhist monastic order.

At the time, it was reported that the decision was taken following a series of controversial statements made by the Thera on social media, which gained significant attention and sparked public debate. (Newswire)