The Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) and the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) have insisted they have done enough to handle the case in which Wat Phra Dhammakaya's controversial abbot, Phra Dhammachayo, was accused of violating the Buddhist monks' code of conduct.
The case was based on a letter, dated April 26, 1999, written by the late Supreme Patriarch, which recommended Phra Dhammachayo be defrocked for violating the monks' code of conduct by putting assets -- including 1,500 rai of land that belonged to the temple -- in his name.
The letter was sent to the SSC. However, the SSC did not defrock the monk. Instead, the council only ordered those concerned to force the monk to transfer the land to the temple.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) early this month asked the NOB whether it had made any progress in taking action against the abbot as suggested by the late Supreme Patriarch.
The SSC convened yesterday to discuss the DSI's inquiry.
Speaking after the three-hour meeting, NOB deputy director Chayapol Pongsida said the SSC approved a draft letter explaining what they have done, which will later be sent to the DSI. He said the letter indicates the NOB and the SSC have responded fully to the letter.
The SSC has held as many as 100 meetings on the issue from 1999-2001, Mr Chayapol said.
After the complaint was filed by Sompon Thepsitha and Manop Pol-Pailin, a panel comprising the ecclesiastical provincial governor of Pathum Thani, deputy ecclesiastical regional governor and ecclesiastical regional governor looked into the case.
The panel resolved not to take up the case for consideration since the petition was incomplete.
The complainants were asked to appeal within 30 days, but they did not do so. One of the petitioners also withdrew.
Accordingly, the case ended as there was no further process for ruling whether Phra Dhammachayo had violated the monk's code.
The complainants, who earlier took the case to a judicial court, also withdrew their petitions, which brought the court case to an an end, Mr Chayapol said.
As a result, any petitions against Phra Dhammachayo must now be filed as part of a new case, and not the land embezzlement one, Mr Chayapol said.
Any new petitions can be lodged with the ecclesiastical provincial governor of Pathum Thani, who directly supervises the abbot.
Asked whether the DSI would consider whether the SSC was negligent in its duty in line with Section 157 of the Criminal Code, Mr Chayapol said the NOB and the SSC have done their best.
The NOB will send the explanation letter to the DSI as early as today or tomorrow, he said.
Pol Maj Worranan Srilum, director of the DSI's Special Case Management Centre, said the DSI will want to review the explanation.
Pol Maj Worranan, who is also the deputy spokesman of the DSI, said the DSI does not want to know whether Phra Dhammachayo has violated the code of conduct, but instead whether the NOB and the SSC have followed the Sangha Act, Buddhist discipline and SSC rules.