The Supreme Court has quashed the University of Peradeniya’s decision to award the "Professor E.O.E. Pereira" gold medal for 2015 to A.H.A.D. Abeysekara, an advisor in the Faculty of Engineering.
Justices Sobitha Rajakaruna and Mahinda Samayawardena delivered the ruling after hearing a fundamental rights petition filed by Kalpana Manawadu, a Moratuwa resident and engineering graduate of the university.
The court also directed the university to establish a formal and transparent marking system for awarding gold medals in the future.
The petitioner stated that she initially applied for the gold medal on March 9, 2016, but after changes to the marking system, she had to resubmit her application. Despite this, the university awarded the medal to Abeysekara.
The bench noted that the absence of a transparent marking system violated the petitioner’s fundamental right to equality before the law. Consequently, the award to Abeysekara was declared null and void.
However, the court said no order would be issued to award the medal to Manawadu, as the prescribed period for the award had expired.
