Writ filed seeking order to prevent demolition of portion of Trincomalee Sambuddha Bodhiraja temple

A writ petition has been filed in the Court of Appeal requesting the issuance of an order to prevent the demolition of a portion of the Trincomalee Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya.

The petition has been submitted by the chief incumbent of the temple, Venerable Trincomalee Kalyanawansa Wansa Tissa Thero.

The Director General of the Department of Coast Conservation, the Minister of Environment and the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment have been named as respondents.

The petitioner, the chief incumbent, states that the temple is a registered religious site under the Amarapura Nikaya in accordance with the Buddhist Temporalities Ordinance in 1951.

The petition also mentions that on June 6, 2014, the then President Mahinda Rajapaksa granted the land under a permit to the then chief prelate Mihindupura Mahindawansa Tissa Thero.

The petition notes that the Trincomalee Urban Council issued a letter stating that there was no objection to the development of the portion of land belonging to the temple.

However, letters were issued by the Director General of the Department of Coast Conservation on July 18, 2025 and July 25, 2025 instructing the demolition of a portion of the temple, and the petitioner submitted an appeal to the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment against this, the petition states.

However, the appeal was rejected by the Secretary of the Ministry of Environment. The petitioner claims that before rejecting the appeal, the Secretary neither inquired about the matter nor sought the petitioner’s viewpoint.

Through the writ petition, petitioner argues that the construction in question does not violate any coastal conservation regulations and that the demolition order is entirely illegal, arbitrary and motivated by malice.

Accordingly, the petitioner requests the Court of Appeal to issue an order nullifying the letters issued by the Department of Coast Conservation regarding the demolition of the temple constructions and to grant a writ preventing these demolitions.

Additionally, the petitioner requests that an interim injunction be issued to prevent the demolition until the final decision on the petition is reached.

Meanwhile, a tense situation arose on Sunday night (16) after the police took steps to remove a Buddha statue that had been placed at a temple premises in Trincomalee.

However, last afternoon (17), the police themselves returned the statue.

Minister of Public Security Ananda Wijepala stated in Parliament that the police took necessary action to ensure the safety of the Buddha statue after receiving information that it might be damaged.

The Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi Bodhiraja Viharaya, located on Fort Road in Trincomalee, is a Buddhist temple registered with the Department of Buddhist Affairs in 1951.

The Sri Sambuddha Jayanthi Bodhivardhana Dhamma School that operated there was destroyed by the 2004 tsunami, and its Chief Incumbent, Ven. Kalayanawansathissa Thero of Trincomalee, together with devotees, decided to resume its activities.

On November 16 morning, a foundation-laying ceremony was held and by afternoon, preparations were being made to place a Buddha statue at the site.

However, the Coast Conservation Department had lodged a complaint with police stating that the construction was unauthorized, and the police notified the monks about this.

Subsequently, police removed the Buddha statue from the premises on Sunday evening.

This took place amid strong opposition from the monks and local residents.

Claiming injuries from the incident, the Chief Incumbent monk and another monk were later hospitalized.