HRCSL Ruling – Withholding A/L Results Violated Fundamental Rights
On 26 June 2026, the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) issued a recommendation finding that the withholding of the Advanced Level results of around 70 candidates from Zahira College, Trincomalee, over their religious attire, violated their fundamental rights.
The HRCSL Hijab exam results ruling, issued on 26 June 2026, concerns the decision of the former Commissioner General of Examinations (the 1st Respondent) to withhold the 2024 Advanced Level results of around 70 candidates from Zahira College, Trincomalee (Case No. HRC/SUO-MOTU/02/2024). The results were withheld on the allegation that the candidates — all Muslim girls — wore religious attire (a loose shawl covering their heads) that breached an examination rule requiring their ears to remain visible.
📝 සාරාංශය / சுருக்கம்
🇱🇰 සිංහල සාරාංශය
2024 වර්ෂයේ ත්රිකුණාමලය සහිරා විද්යාලයේ මුස්ලිම් සිසුවියන් 70ක් පමණ දෙනාගේ උසස් පෙළ ප්රතිඵල වළක්වා තැබීම ඔවුන්ගේ මූලික අයිතිවාසිකම් උල්ලංඝනය කිරීමක් බව ශ්රී ලංකා මානව හිමිකම් කොමිෂන් සභාව (HRCSL) 2026 ජූනි 26 දින නිර්දේශ කර ඇත. විභාගයේදී කන් පෙනෙන ලෙස තැබිය යුතු බවට වූ නීතිය උල්ලංඝනය වූ බවට කරන ලද චෝදනාව මත ප්රතිඵල වළක්වා තිබූ අතර, ඇඳුම මගින් කන් පෙනෙන්නට සලස්වා තිබූ බව දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ සාක්ෂිකරුවන් තහවුරු කළ බව කොමිසම සඳහන් කරයි. ආගම ප්රකාශ කිරීමේ නිදහස (ව්යවස්ථාවේ 10, 14(1)(e)) සහ සමානාත්මතාව හා වෙනස්කම් නොකිරීමේ අයිතිය (12(1), 12(2)) උල්ලංඝනය වී ඇති බව කොමිසම නිගමනය කළේය.
🇱🇰 தமிழ் சுருக்கம்
2024 ஆம் ஆண்டில் திருகோணமலை ஜாஹிரா கல்லூரியைச் சேர்ந்த சுமார் 70 முஸ்லிம் மாணவிகளின் உயர்தரப் பெறுபேறுகளை நிறுத்திவைத்த தீர்மானம் அவர்களின் அடிப்படை உரிமைகளை மீறியதாக இலங்கை மனித உரிமைகள் ஆணைக்குழு (HRCSL) 2026 ஜூன் 26 அன்று பரிந்துரைத்துள்ளது. பரீட்சையின்போது காதுகள் தெரியும்படி இருக்க வேண்டும் என்ற விதியை மீறியதாகக் கூறப்பட்ட குற்றச்சாட்டின் அடிப்படையில் பெறுபேறுகள் நிறுத்திவைக்கப்பட்டன; ஆனால் அணிந்திருந்த ஆடை காதுகள் தெரியும்படி இருந்ததை திணைக்களச் சாட்சிகள் உறுதிப்படுத்தியதாக ஆணைக்குழு குறிப்பிடுகிறது. மத சுதந்திரம் (அரசியலமைப்பின் 10, 14(1)(e)) மற்றும் சமத்துவம் மற்றும் வேறுபாடின்மை (12(1), 12(2)) உரிமைகள் மீறப்பட்டதாக ஆணைக்குழு தீர்மானித்தது.
📖 Background
According to the recommendation, the Commission initially summoned officials from the Department of Examinations to mediate a settlement. The Department had released the candidates’ results and permitted them to apply for re-scrutiny.
The Commission then completed its inquiry. It found that the 1st Respondent had failed to demonstrate that the candidates had violated any examination rule, as several witnesses from the Department confirmed that the attire worn had in fact enabled the candidates’ ears to be visible. It also found that the Department had failed to hold a proper inquiry to establish any violation of an examination rule.
⚖️ What the HRCSL Hijab Exam Results Ruling Found
The Commission found that the 1st Respondent had violated the candidates’ right to the freedom of religion and their rights to equality and non-discrimination under the Constitution. Drawing on landmark Supreme Court decisions and opinions of the United Nations Human Rights Committee, it concluded that the decision amounted to an unnecessary, disproportionate, and unreasonable limitation on the candidates’ freedom to manifest their religion or belief.
📌 Key Recommendations
- Impartial inquiry into the recommendation: Conduct a full and impartial inquiry into how and why an external official recommended that the candidates had violated the examination rule in clause 17(IV) of the “Rules and Instructions for Examination Candidates” (Gazette Notification No. 2,137 of 16 August 2019). Disciplinary action should follow if it is established that the official misrepresented facts to the Department or acted in bad faith.
- Issue a clarifying circular: Provide clear guidelines that clause 17(IV) should not be interpreted or applied to prevent a student from manifesting their religion or belief. Invigilators and supervisors should be instructed that religious attire adapted to keep a candidate’s ears visible — such as a loose shawl — should, according to its manner and form, be considered satisfactory.
- Review invigilator assignments: Review the current procedure for assigning female invigilators, including Tamil-speaking female invigilators, and ensure adequate numbers are assigned to examination centres in the future.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What did the HRCSL find?
That withholding the 2024 A/L results of around 70 Muslim candidates from Zahira College, Trincomalee, over their religious attire violated their fundamental rights — the freedom of religion and the rights to equality and non-discrimination.
Why were the results withheld?
On an allegation that the candidates breached an examination rule requiring ears to be visible. The Commission found no rule was violated, as Department witnesses confirmed the attire kept the candidates’ ears visible.
Which constitutional rights were found to be violated?
Articles 10 and 14(1)(e) (freedom of religion) and Articles 12(1) and 12(2) (equality and non-discrimination).
What did the Commission recommend?
An impartial inquiry into the external official’s recommendation, a clarifying circular on the examination rule, and a review of the assignment of female (including Tamil-speaking) invigilators.
Where can I read the full recommendation?
The full HRCSL recommendation document is available to download via the official link below.
🏛️ Source
Recommendation: Case No. HRC/SUO-MOTU/02/2024
Issued by: Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL)
Date: 26 June 2026
