By Saroj Pathirana
BBC Sinhala service
The Chief Justice says the allegations are a "serious matter of concern"
Sri Lanka's foremost law academy says it has launched an investigation over allegations of exam irregularities at the final year examination held in early December.
A whistle-blower, final-year student DM Thushara Jayaratne has accused Sri Lanka Law College (SLLC) authorities of making exam papers available beforehand to selective students and offering special privileges to President Mahinda Rajapaksa's son, Namal, MP.
In a letter to whistle-blower Jayaratne, SLLC has said that a preliminary inquiry will be held on the 11th of January.
SLLC Principal has informed that the inquiry will be held at the law college premises by attorney-at-law Uditha Igalahewa.
The Chief Justice earlier said he would order an investigation into the allegations, provided the petitioner come up with proper evidence.
Chief Justice
Chief Justice Asoka de Silva told BBC Sinhala service that the allegations are a "serious matter of concern".
Student Jayaratne earlier accused authorities of being "reluctant to investigate" despite appealing to the chief justice, bribery commission among other authorities.
The whistle-blower alleges that the president's son received special treatment by getting special facilities to sit the examination in an A/C computer room
Copies of the petition have been made available to the BBC as well as several international human rights watchdogs.
The student says he lodged a formal complaint after he overheard a conversation involving at least two examinees discussing questions in the Commercial Law question paper 30 minutes before the exam.
President Rajapaksa's eldest son, Namal, was among the candidates who sat for the examination on that day. But he was not one of those students allegedly overheard by Jayaratne.
Death threats
The student says he currently is in hiding as he regularly receives telephone calls threatening him with death and demanding he withdraw the complaints.
Student Jayaratne says he does not feel confident to attend the inquiry to be held on Tuesday as some of the calls came from the college's official numbers.
"If the student is facing death threats as a result of revealing such a misdeed, it is of course a serious concern," CJ Asoka de Silva added.
We have only one Law College in Sri Lanka. If there are suspicions over its credibility, it will affect the whole profession
Former CJ, Sarath Nanda Silva
The chief justice is officially the chair of the Council of Legal Education, the governing body of the Law College.
Mr Jayaratne also alleges that the president's son received special treatment by getting special facilities to sit the examination in an air conditioned computer room.
The matter would be raised with international judicial bodies and the UN, he says, as his fundamental rights have been violated by the "special treatment" allegedly given to Namal Rajapaksa.
The BBC could not contact Namal Rajapaksa despite repeated attempts.
Hong Kong based Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) says the allegation about about the leakage of the question paper raised very serious questions.
"What will be the role of lawyers who pass exams in this manner? Will they enter the legal profession with any sense of respect for the basic norms of rule of law?" it questioned in a statement.
Sarath Nanda Silva, who held the reins as the chief justice in Sri Lanka for over ten years, says that the allegation of special treatment is "unprecedented" in the history of the Law College.
"I believe that we must investigate these kind of allegations," the former chief justice told BBC Sinhala service.
It is the duty of the Council of Legal Education headed by the CJ, Mr Silva said, to launch an investigation and clear the name of the school that produces future legal professionals.
"We have only one Law College in Sri Lanka. If there are suspicions over its credibility, it will affect the whole profession," he added.
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A selection of your comments
"Maintaining rule of law is vital for any country and if they say there are lapses, we need to look into it and take measures to strengthen the rule of law" These are the encouraging words uttered by CJ when his lordship assumed office.It shall not go unheeded just under his nose.D M Thushara Jayaratne shall not be scapegoated like Assange.Wheather the President's son is involved or not he shall be congratulated for what he did in exposing possible corruption at the only Law College.May there be millions of Thusharas in future.There names shall deserve to be written in gold.
Raja Wijegunaratne, Matugama, Sri Lanka
It is no small wonder that western nations looking at applicants for positions view qualifications gained in developing nations with suspicion. It would be interesting to see how the pass rate were to be affected if papers were set, kept secure, invigilated and marked by a credible external examining body. At least then you could be confident that those who were successful in the examination were worthy of the qualification?
Michael Rochester, Mirissa, Sri Lanka
I have no objection for providing a seperate secure place in the exam hall to the President's son. But if there is a scandel with regrad to exam papers it shall be thouroughly investigated.
Raja Wijegunaratne, Matugama, Sri Lanka
IN a country the president is above the law,can some one except rule of law being applied for his kith and kins?
Kannan, USA
None of what is alleged is new to the SLLC.I passed out some 36 years ago and I heard similar stories of events that occured many decades ago.The president himself is a product of the SLLC.Ask him, he will have many stories to tell about the SLLC eaxamination system.Namal Rajapakse is a person who needs special security and that needs to be understood.Putting him with other candiadates would have placed them too at risk.We need to deal with this matters with a sense of reality.If any good is to come out of this it will be setting up proper policy and secure protocals that will be observed with respect to conduct of examinations.It must be done the direct supervision of the CJ and one other Judge nominated by the Law Society in addition to the Board of Examiners who I believe currently oversee the conduct of examinations.The raising of the standards of integrity in the Sri Lanka legal profession is an issue of utmost importance to the nation given the number of lawy! ers engaged in politics at the highest level.
Sunil, Vicotoria, Australia
Oh God, BBC... Stop this rumor-mongering.... So what if Rajapakse's son got special accomodation: the British PM's son similar kind of special security situation, huh? Get this idiot writer off BBC!
Wasanth, USA
Rajapaksa regime has Politicised the Judiciary System. President is above the Judiciary System. If the President orders to give special treatments to his son, System has to do it. This is a result of this. There is a possibility that this thing can happen in Sri Lanka. Death threats, dissapearances and HR violations are normal in this regime. If some one is against the Rajapaksa Family, next movement may be a death threat, beating or dissapearance. There is no democracy in Srilanka.
Prathapa Samarasinghe, Colombo
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2011/01/110109_law_college.shtml
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