Wannigama vs Incorporated Council of Legal Education and Others – sllr 2006 volume 3 page 287

In Wannigama v. Incorporated Council of Legal Education and others, the court addressed the legality of awarding additional marks through an interview process for admission to the Sri Lanka Law College and the validity of reserving additional seats for Tamil medium candidates. It was held that the awarding of marks based on the interview process was ultra vires the Rules of the Council of Legal Education and thus not legally permissible. However, the court determined that the decision to grant additional intake to Tamil medium candidates to address underrepresentation was valid and within the legal authority of the Council. The ruling emphasized that admission must be based strictly on merit as prescribed by the Council’s Rules, and discretionary addition of marks undermines this principle