Welakanda Dhammasiddi v. Kamburupitiye Somaloka Thero – sllr 1990 volume 1 page 234

In the case between Kamburupitiye Somaloka Thero (plaintiff) and Welakande Dhammasiddi Thero (defendant), the court addressed whether the plaintiff had abandoned his right to the incumbency of the Wilegoda Viharaya by participating in the appointment of the defendant through a meeting resolution. The court held that abandonment of a Buddhist temple incumbency under Buddhist Ecclesiastical Law requires both a physical departure and a clear mental renunciation, and the plaintiff’s conduct did not satisfy these requirements. The principle reaffirmed was that mere consent to another’s appointment, absent unequivocal evidence of relinquishment, does not amount to legal abandonment of such a post. Reliance was placed on established legal precedents defining abandonment and relevant ecclesiastica