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P. Ramanathan (judge)

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Deshamanya Justice
P. Ramanathan
Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
4th Governor, Western Province
In office
21 January 2000 – 1 February 2002
Preceded byK. Vignarajah
Succeeded byAlavi Moulana
1st Chancellor, Uva Wellassa University
In office
27 July 2005 – 7 December 2006
Personal details
Born(1932-09-01)1 September 1932
Died7 December 2006(2006-12-07) (aged 74)
Spouse(s)Mano Ramanathan
(née Saravanamuttu)
Alma materSt. Joseph's College, Colombo
Montfort School
St. David's College
ProfessionLawyer
EthnicitySri Lankan Tamil

Deshamanya Justice Pathmanathan Ramanathan (1 September 1932 – 7 December 2006) was a leading Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and judge. Known as Rama, he was a High Court judge, Court of Appeal judge, provincial governor, university chancellor and a judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka.[1][2]

Early life and family

Ramanathan was born on 1 September 1932.[1] He was the son of Sangarapillai Pathmanathan, a broker and chairman of the Low-Country Products Association, and Srimani, grand daughter of Ponnambalam Ramanathan, a leading politician during British colonial rule.[1][3] Ramanathan was educated at St. Joseph's College, Colombo and Montford High School in southern India.[1][3][4][5] He was a keen sportsman. After school Ramanathan went to the UK and studied at the St. David's College, University of Wales and Gray's Inn.[1][3][4][5] Whilst in the UK he lived in London House, a hall of residence for Commonwealth students.[1] There he formed lifelong friendships with luminaries such as Sinha Basnayake, Desmond Fernando, Dr. Tony Gabriel, Palitha Kirthisinghe, Ajit Jayaratne, Dr. Lal Jayawardena, Dr. Mano Muttucumaru and Dr. Gihan Tennekoon.[1]

Ramanathan married Mano, daughter of Suppiah Saravanamuttu, a lawyer from Colombo.[6]

Career

Ramanathan worked for the British Inland Revenue for a while before returning to Ceylon.[3] He became an advocate of the Supreme Court and practised law.[1][5] He joined the Attorney-General's Department in the late 1970s as a crown counsel.[1][3][4][5] He was appointed to the High Court in 1978 and served in Matara, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala and Colombo.[1][3][4][5] In 1985 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal.[1][3][5] He was later promoted to President of the Court of Appeal.[3][5] He was then appointed to the Supreme Court.[1][3][4][5]

Ramanathan was elected Master of the Bench by the Honourable Society of Gray's Inn.[3] He was also president of the British Scholars' Association, president of the Medical-Legal Society, member of the council of the Indo-Pacific Association of Law and Medicine and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.[3][4] Ramanathan was awarded the Deshamanya title, the second highest civilian honour in Sri Lanka, by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.[3][4]

Later life

After retiring from the Supreme Court Ramanathan was appointed the 4th governor of the Western Province in 2000.[1][3][5] He was appointed chancellor of the new Uva Wellassa University in July 2005.[7] He was also chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka and trustee of several religious organisations including Sri Ponnambalam Vaneswarar Kovil in Colombo.[1][3]

Ramanathan was a member of the kennel club and regularly displayed his dogs at shows.[8] One of his dachshunds won the "Champion of Champions" title at a dog show in Kandy in the 1990s. He was also a Rotarian and a Freemason.[1]

Ramanathan died on 7 December 2006.[1][9][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Sanmuganathan, Muttusamy (1 September 2009). "Remembering Justice Ramanathan: A Man for All Seasons". The Island, Sri Lanka.
  2. ^ G. L. Peiris (4 December 2008). "An exceptional, rare person in the cynical times". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Maniccavasagar, Kalabhooshanam Chelvatamby (15 January 2007). "Deshamanya Justice Ramanathan - a colossus, multi-dimensional and multi-faceted personality". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Amarasingham, Kumudu (27 November 2005). "Justice Ramanathan: A fairer view of life". The Sunday Leader.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Malalasekera, Sarath (13 September 2010). "Legal luminaries who lit up the Bar". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ Goonesekere, R. K. W. (31 August 2011). "1st September Birthday Tribute Justice P. Ramanathan". The Island, Sri Lanka.
  7. ^ Edirisinghe, Dasun (30 July 2005). "Sarath Amunugama appointed Vice Chancellor". The Island, Sri Lanka.
  8. ^ Cooray, Methsiri (10 December 2006). "Justice P. Ramanathan". Sunday Observer, Sri Lanka.
  9. ^ de Silva, G. P. S. (7 December 2008). "Justice P. Ramanathan". The Island, Sri Lanka.
  10. ^ "Death of Deshamanya Justice P. Ramanathan". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 8 December 2006.
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