J.G. Mangala & Others vs. H.J.M.C. Amith Jayasundara, Commissioner General of Examinations & Others – SC FR 286/2024-2024

In the case between several parents and child candidates (students who appeared for the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination) as petitioners and state functionaries including the Commissioner General of Examinations and the Minister of Education as respondents, the core legal issue concerned the integrity of the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination following the unauthorized dissemination of examination questions. The central question was whether the State’s remedial act of awarding free marks for three compromised questions was lawful, reasonable, and consistent with the constitutional guarantee of equality under Article 12(1), and whether the Commissioner General of Examinations exercised authority in accordance with the Public Examinations Act. The findings established that substantial evidence s