The Colombo High Court today (Dec.20) has fixed a date for the hearing of the bail application filed by Pastor Jerome Fernando who came under for fire his controversial comments on several religions.

Accordingly, the self-styled prophet’s bail application will be taken up for hearing on January 04, 2024.

The case was called before High Court Judge Aditya Patabendi this morning.

Pastor Fernando found himself in hot water after a video of one of his sermons went viral on social media, due to allegations that it included derogatory statements related to Lord Buddha and other religious figures.

Fernando then flew out to Singapore on May 14, two days before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court banned his foreign travels.

After months of controversy over his remarks, Fernando returned to the island on Wednesday morning (Nov.29). He had arrived from Singapore on board a Qatar Airlines flight and left the airport through the Gold Route at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake.

As per an Appeals Court directive, the CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation Division obtained a statement from the pastor within 48 hours of his arrival on the island.

He was first placed behind bars on remand on December 01, following his arrest by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), a few hours after he arrived at the premises to record a statement for the second consecutive day.

Pastor Fernando was subsequently further remanded until December 27, on the orders of Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court.