Meragal Pelige Dinuka Namalee Dissanayake et al. vs Sri Lanka Medical Council et al. – SC F.R. APPLICATIONS NO: 149/2019-2019

In the case between several Petitioners (a group of candidates barred from completing the Examination for Registration to Practise Medicine, including Dr. Akhila Maneesha Ranasinghe and others) and Respondents (the Sri Lanka Medical Council and related state officials), the court addressed whether the retroactive imposition of a new pre-entry requirement by the 1st Respondent, which prevented the Petitioners from sitting the remaining components of the ERPM, amounted to a violation of Articles 12(1) and 14(1)(g) of the Constitution—specifically, the right to equality and the right to engage in a lawful occupation. It was held that the Respondent’s administrative action was arbitrary and contrary to the doctrine of legitimate expectation and the principles of natural justice, thereby violat