A writ petition filed challenging the Council of Legal Education’s decision to conduct all study courses at Sri Lanka Law College in English medium and hold examinations gradually in English medium was dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal’s two-judge bench, comprised of Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Dhammika Ganepola, held that the petitioner was guilty of laches and decided to dismiss the petition at the beginning of the court proceedings.
Petitioner Mangala Pushpa Kumara, a student of Sri Lanka Law College, had sought a writ of certiorari to quash the Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2208/13 published on December 30, 2020, and the relevant rules promulgated by the Council of Legal Education.
The Court of Appeal was of the view that the petitioner has entered Sri Lanka Law College based on the rules promulgated by the Council of Legal Education, including the rules published in the impugned gazette notification for 2020. Thereafter, he has applied to sit for the 1st year examination in October 2021, and subsequently, he has withdrawn the said application. Further, in April 2022, he sat again for the 1st-year examination, in which he was unsuccessful.
The petitioner filed this petition on December 20, 2022, and requested that an interim order be issued suspending the ongoing examination. According to the timetable, the examination was due to commence on December 2, 2022, and by now, it has been held for 4 days in the month of December.
The Court of Appeal observed that the petitioner waited until this examination was partially concluded before filing this application. What is the petitioner’s special right to seek such an interim order, which would cause hardship to the majority of students, who have probably spent many sleepless nights preparing for exams and have probably finished answering some question papers by now?, the court asked.
