Vaithalingam was born on December 17,1906,to prominent Colombo stockbroker Mudaliyar Arunachala Vaithalingam. Both his paternal and maternal family hails from the affluent town of Manipay,Jaffna. He began his education at the Royal College,Colombo[3] where he excelled in academics and went on to obtain a degree in law from the Colombo Law College.
Vaithalingam joined the judicial service 9 years after being called to the bar,as an Acting Magistrate in Mallakan. For over two decades,he functioned as a Magistrate and District Judge in different parts of the island and in October,1962,he was appointed a Commissioner of Assize. He continued as such until his appointment to the Supreme Court of Ceylon in 1964 by Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
Judgments
Mentioned below are a few of the numerous judgments in which Justice Vaithalingam was involved. All of the cases below are from the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and no judgments from lower courts have been included.[4]
Cases presided over
Mohideen v. Village Council,Nintavur - NLR - 469 of 68 [1965] LKSC 22;(1965) 68 NLR 469 (14 September 1965).
The Solicitor General v. WM Podisira - NLR - 502 of 67 [1965] LKSC 23;(1965) 67 NLR 502 (27 August 1965)
Thenabandu v. Samarasekera - NLR - 472 of 70 [1967] LKSC 1;(1967) 70 NLR 472 (26 November 1967)
Jayasena v. The Queen - NLR - 369 of 68 [1966] LKSC 14;(1966) 68 NLR 369 (12 May 1966)
Dahanayake v. Kannangara - NLR - 260 of 68 [1966] LKSC 24;(1966) 68 NLR 260 (7 February 1966)
Don Sadiris.L v. Heenhamy.L - NLR - 17 of 68 [1965] LKSC 10;(1965) 68 NLR 17 (20 July 1965)
Babanisa v. Ukku - NLR - 305 of 68 [1965] LKSC 27;(1965) 68 NLR 305 (13 January 1965)
The Queen v. Abeysinghe - NLR - 386 of 68 [1965] LKSC 11;(1965) 68 NLR 386 (21 June 1965
Cases in which referred to for Common Law purposes
Arumugam Coomaraswamy v. Andris Appuhamy and Others - SLR - 219,Vol 2 of 1985 [1985] LKSC 8;(1985) 2 Sri LR 219 (19 June 1985)
Wellington v. Amerasinghe - SLR - 41,Vol 1 of 1987 [1986] LKSC 38;(1987) 1 Sri LR 41 (10 November 1986)
Subair v. Isthikar - NLR - 397 of 77 [1974] LKSC 5;(1974) 77 NLR 397 (3 July 1974)
WAHemadasa v. JL Sirisena - NLR - 201 of 69 [1966] LKSC 29;(1966) 69 NLR 201 (22 September 1966)
Jeyaraj Fernandopulle v. Premachandra De Silva and Others - SLR - 70,Vol 1 of 1996 [1996] LKSC 14;(1996) 1 Sri LR 70 (9 July 1996)
Gunaratne Menike v. Jayatileke Banda - SLR - 152,Vol 2 of 1995 [1994] LKSC 43;(1995) 2 Sri LR 152 (13 December 1994)
Post-Judicial Career
Justice V. Manicavasagar (left) opening the first Commercial Bank Branch in Galewela
In retirement,he was a member of both the Citizen Committee and the Delimitation Committee among many others. A devote Hindu,he also served as President of the Educational Society for many years.[5]
As Chancellor of the University of Jaffna
Vaithalingam was appointed as the first Chancellor of the University of Jaffna by the President of Sri Lanka with effect from the first of January,1979. In the course of his tenure,which lasted half a decade,he presided over the first convocation held at the Veerasingam Hall on the 13th of September 1980 and also delivered the very first convocation address. He was also conferred with a Doctorate by the University.[6]
Deshamanya
Vaithalingam was awarded the Deshamanya Award within two years of its founding in 1987.[7] He was the first Sri Lankan Tamil to receive the award and the appearance of common ground between the government and a prominent Tamil caused an adverse reaction from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The LTTE called on him to refuse the reward,if he valued his life;however,Vaithalingam defied the outfit and accepted the honour.
"I went to the office of the Government Agent in Colombo in July 1973. In order to find my way to the officer I wanted to meet, I saw a board in Sinhala only. I enquired in English from the clerk who was seated behind the counter as to what it said. His reply in Sinhala was “Don’t you know how to read Sinhala?” I replied in English that I could not understand what he said. He said in Sinhala: “Go and learn Sinhala and come back.” A bystander told me what the board conveyed" - Justice Manicavasagar Vaithalingam 1974
Refugee Studies Centre of the University of Oxford, Children and Armed Conflict in Sri Lanka, Jason Hart, PHD
Personal life
Vaithalingam married Valamba, the eldest daughter of Nannithamby Selliah of Rosmead Place - son of Visva Udayar Sangarapillai Nannithamby, Broker of Mackwood & Co. & his wife Sellam, daughter of Kandarthamby Kandiah (Chattambiar) - and sister of Justice Siva Selliah, High CourtJudge.[9]
They have two children: (1)Arunachala Manicavasagar, JP, who married Skandaleela - daughter of Proctor Sivakolundu Rajendran (JP, NP) and his wife Kamalambigai, youngest daughter of Stowell Elaithamby Murgesampillai - and his younger sister, (2)Nirmala Ragunanthan, who was married to the late Ragunanthan Thambimutha, Managing Director of Raniyo (Pvt) Ltd. Both of his children continue to live in Colombo while his grandchildren reside in North America.
Deshamanya is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a civil honour. It is awarded for "highly meritorious service", and is conventionally used as a title or prefix to the recipient's name.
Deshamanya Priyani Elizabeth Soysa was a Sri Lankan scientist who was Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics of the University of Colombo and the first woman to be appointed to a professorial chair in Sri Lanka.
Nadarajah Raviraj was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician who served as Mayor of Jaffna in 2001 and a Member of Parliament for Jaffna District from 2001 to 2006. A member of the Tamil National Alliance, he was shot dead on 10 November 2006 in Colombo.
The University of Sri Lanka was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. The university system was dissolved in 1978 and its six campuses turned into independent universities: the University of Peradeniya, the University of Colombo, the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, the University of Kelaniya, the University of Moratuwa, and the University of Jaffna.
Aboobucker Mohamed Abdul Azeez was a Ceylonese civil servant, educator, social worker and member of the Senate of Ceylon.
Manipay or Maanippaai is a town in the northern Jaffna District of Sri Lanka. The original name of Manipay is Periyapulam. It was a mission location when the American Ceylon Mission (ACM) came to Sri Lanka in the 19th century. Dr. Samuel Fisk Green founded the Green Memorial Hospital in 1864 in this village. It was also known as Manipai. There are number of schools in the village, some of which were founded by ACM. The 104-year-old Manipay Hindu College and the 53-year-old Manipay Hindu Ladies College, both High Schools, are prominent. The village also contains Hindu temples and churches. The Manipay Maruthady Pillaiyar Temple stands out.
Deshamanya Nissanka Parakrama Wijeyeratne, known as Nissanka Wijeyeratne, was a Sri Lankan politician, civil servant, diplomat and English language poet. He was also the 17th Diyawadana Nilame of the Sri Dalada Maligawa, Kandy from 1975 to 1985. At the time of death he was serving as the chairman of The Law and Society Trust in Sri Lanka.
Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike was a Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, who served as Cabinet Minister of Finance, Parliamentary Secretary for the Prime Minister and Defence and External Affairs (1960–1965) and Cabinet Minister of Justice (1970–77) in the cabinet of Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike. He was a very popular person about the anti-corruption campaign and also known as the "virtual leader of the state" during the SLFP governments after the death of Prime minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike. He was very active in defeating two major coups against the government, one is 1962 attempted military coup and JVP's 1971 JVP Insurrection.
St Patrick's College (SPC) is a private school in Gurunagar, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1850 by Roman Catholic missionaries.
Deshamanya Suppiah Sharvananda was the 37th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka and the first Governor of the Western Province.
Justice Siva Selliah (1924–1997) was a Sri Lankan judge. He was a former justice of the Court of Appeal, judge of the High Court and a magistrate. He was also a member of the Governing Council of the University of Colombo.
Mathiaparanan Abraham Sumanthiran, PC born 9 February 1964) is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician. A successful civil lawyer who practices civil litigation, human rights and constitutional law, Sumanthiran has served as Member of Parliament from the Jaffna District from 2015 to 2024, and National List from 2010 to 2015 from the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi.
Major General Deshamanya Alexander Richard Udugama, was a Sri Lankan soldier, politician and diplomat. Former Army Commander (1964–1966), he was elected as Member of Parliament for Matale from 1970 to 1977 and served as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Iraq from 1979 to 1982. He was accused of an alleged coup d'état in 1966.
Charles Edward Victor Seneviratne Corea was a Sri Lankan lawyer, legislator, politician, civil rights activist, and anti-colonial nationalist. As a lawyer, Corea was an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka and unofficial member of the Legislative Council of Ceylon. As a politician, he was a founding member of the Ceylon National Congress, the Founding President of the Ceylon Labour Union, and an executive member of Ceylon Labour Party, all parties focused on promoting Sri Lankan independence amidst British colonial rule in Ceylon. He is widely credited for resisting the Poll Tax in Ceylon. Corea is a descendant of King Dominicus Corea of Kotte.
Henry Wijeyakone Tambiah (1906–1997) was a Ceylonese academic, diplomat, lawyer and judge, born in Sri Lanka during British colonial rule. He was a Commissioner of Assize, High Commissioner and judge of the Supreme Courts of Ceylon and Sierra Leone.
Canagasabapathy Visuvalingam Vigneswaran, PC is a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, judge, politician and Member of Parliament. After practising law for more than 15 years, Vigneswaran was a member of the judiciary for 25 years. He was a magistrate and a judge of the District Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. He was Chief Minister of the Northern Province from October 2013 to October 2018. He was elected to the Parliament of Sri Lanka in August 2020. Vigneswaran is leader of the Tamil People's Alliance and the Tamil People's National Alliance.
Deshamanya Weligamage Don Lakshman popularly known as Professor W. D. Lakshman is a Sri Lankan economist, professor, lecturer, academic and author who also served as the 15th Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and current chairman of the Monetary Board of the CBSL. He is regarded as one of the prominent economists of the country mainly well known for his immense contributions to policy related activities and for being specialised in the field of Economics.
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