Withanagama and Others vs. Incorporated Council of Legal Education and Others – sllr 2021 volume 1 page 043

In the case between Withanagama and others (Plaintiffs) and the Incorporated Council of Legal Education and others (Defendants), the court addressed whether the Council’s decision to set the entrance examination cut-off mark at 66—resulting in the selection of only 177 students instead of the anticipated 225—constituted an arbitrary action or breached the doctrine of legitimate expectation. The court held that the entrance requirements fell squarely within the Council’s broad discretion as conferred by Rule 23(2)(VIII) of the Council of Legal Education Rules, finding no violation of a legitimate expectation or arbitrariness in determining the number of vacancies or the cut-off mark. This determination relied on the relevant Ordinance, statutory rules, and applicable case law, emphasizing t