SC asks for Admission Committee Meeting minutes

Jayantha de Silva

The Supreme Court yesterday ordered the University Grants Commission (UGC) to submit the Minutes of a meeting held by its Admission Committee, when the contempt proceedings case instituted against the UGC Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayake for non-compliance of a court directive, was taken up before the three Judge Bench of the Supreme Court.

The Bench comprised Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Justice K. Sri Pavan and Justice Gamini Ameratunge.

The Bench repeatedly referred to an earlier media briefing held by the UGC chairman in which the term ‘Grey area’ was referred to.

Justice Ameratunge : Grey areas in what?

Attorney-at-law Faiz Musthafa PC appearing for the UGC chairman submitted that the UGC on a court directive had entrusted the formulating of the ‘Z’ score to a Technical Committee headed by Prof. Thatil.

The newspaper report filed was hearsay. There was nothing reflecting on the judgment.

‘May be an error, not willfully and the respondent was innocent of any wrong doing,’ counsel contended. In this regard the UGC chairman had tendered his apology.

The Commissioner General of Examinations is also cited as a respondent in the several petitions filed against the ‘Z’ score issue. The Chief Justice asserted that the court ruling was to treat both the old and news students (categories) separately.

The next call date was fixed for November 22.