The writ application filed before the court seeking an order to prevent the arrest of Pastor Jerome Fernando has been withdrawn.

Accordingly, the lawyers of the self-styled ‘prophet’ on Wednesday (21 June) withdrew the writ application filed requesting the court to issue an order preventing Fernando’s arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

On 26 May, Fernando filed a Fundamental Rights (FR) petition before the Supreme Court, through his attorneys, seeking an order preventing his arrest.

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the DIG in charge of the CID, the CID director and the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the cybercrimes unit of the CID had been named as the respondents of the FR petition.

In his petition, the Pastor deemed the CID’s attempts to arrest him unlawful, claiming that the police have not presented any piece of evidence to the court to prove that his comments threaten the religious harmony in the country.

Subsequently, however, an interlocutory petition was filed by a group including Ven. Elle Gunawansa Thero, seeking to dismiss Fernando’s petition.

The petitioning party claimed that the defendant has filed this petition in a backdrop where the Attorney General has pledged before the Supreme Court that an investigation would be carried out into several controversial statements against several religions including Buddhism.

Fernando found himself in hot water after a video of him making certain derogatory statements related to Lord Buddha and other religious figures during one of his sermons was widely circulated on social media, stirring much controversy in the country.