Supreme Court declares free marks decision unlawful in grade 5 exam controversy

The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ruled that the decision to award free marks for three leaked questions in the 2024 Grade 5 Scholarship Examination violated the fundamental rights of students.

The court ordered immediate action to finalize the results using one of the three recommendations proposed by an expert committee.

The controversy began on September 20, 2024, when it was alleged that three questions from the exam, conducted on September 15, 2024 were leaked.

Investigations by the Department of Examinations and later the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) confirmed the leaks but limited them to three questions.

The court directed the Commissioner General of Examinations, Amith Jayasundara, to assess the answer scripts and issue results based on the expert committee’s recommendations.

This comes after an earlier decision to award free marks for the leaked questions, which was deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court.

In its verdict, the three-judge bench comprising Justices Yasantha Kodagoda, Kumuduni Wickremesinghe, and Arjuna Obeyesekera emphasized the importance of fairness in the examination process.

Four petitions filed by affected students and parents had sought redress for the violation of their rights.

The court also ordered compensation payments from two individuals linked to the leak. I.G.S. Prematilake, Director of the Planning Division at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Maharagama and a member of the exam preparation committee, was directed to pay Rs. 3 million.

Chaminda Kumara Ilangasinghe, a tuition teacher, was ordered to pay Rs. 2 million. Both were earlier arrested and remanded for their roles in the incident.

Amid public outcry and protests, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake intervened to suspend the evaluation of answer sheets pending investigations.

Despite an initial decision in October not to re-conduct the exam, the Supreme Court later issued an interim order in November preventing the release of results until the matter was resolved.