Waharaka Alias Moratota Sobhita Thero v. Amunugama Ratnapala Thero – sllr 1981 volume 1 page 201

In the case between Waharaka alias Moratota Sobhita Thero (and the substituted 2nd Plaintiff) and Amunugama Ratnapala Thero, the court addressed the issue of rightful incumbency and succession to the Selawa Vihara under Buddhist Ecclesiastical Law. It was held that the plaintiff is the lawful Viharadhipathi entitled to the control and possession of the temple and its temporal endowments, and that questions of succession to a Buddhist temple involve legal rights enforceable by law rather than being of purely ecclesiastical concern. The reasoning relied on analysis of the applicable Buddhist Temporalities Ordinances, principles of pupillary succession, and prior authorities regarding res judicata, misjoinder, and prescription. The decision clarified that property rights of Buddhist temples a