Deshamanya Deshamanya ( si, දේශමාන්‍ය, translit=Dēshamāṉya; ta, தேசமான்ய, translit=Tēcamāṉya; Pride of the Nation) is the second-highest national honour of Sri Lanka awarded by the Government of Sri Lanka as a ...

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

Pathmanathan Ramanathan (1 September 1932 – 7 December 2006) was a leading

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

lawyer and judge. Known as Rama, he was a High Court judge, Court of Appeal judge,

provincial governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

university chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...

and a judge of the

Supreme Court of Sri Lanka The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය, Sri Lanka Sreshthadikaranaya; ta, இலங்கை உயர் நீதிமன்றம், Ilankai uyar neetimanram) is th ...

Early life and family

Ramanathan was born on 1 September 1932. He was the son of Sangarapillai Pathmanathan, a

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

and chairman of the ''Low-Country Products Association'', and Srimani, grand daughter of

Ponnambalam Ramanathan Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan, CMG, KC ( ta, பொன்னம்பலம் இராமநாதன், translit=Poṉṉampalam Irāmanātaṉ; 16 April 1851 – 26 November 1930) was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and Solicitor-General o ...

, a leading politician during British colonial rule. Ramanathan was educated at

St. Joseph's College, Colombo , motto_translation = In Knowledge and Virtue , location = T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10 , country = Sri Lanka , coordinates = , caption = School Facade , pushpin_m ...

and Montford High School in southern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He was a keen sportsman. After school Ramanathan went to the UK and studied at the St David's College,

University of Wales The University of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ''Prifysgol Cymru'') is a confederal university based in Cardiff, Wales. Founded by royal charter in 1893 as a federal university with three constituent colleges – Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff � ...

and

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. Whilst in the UK he lived in London House, a

hall of residence A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

for

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

students. There he formed lifelong friendships with

Sinha Basnayake Sinha Basnayake, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He was a former Director of the General Legal Division of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs and a member of the Internal Justice Council. Son of the prominent lawyer Hema Henry Basnayake, Q ...

, Desmond Fernando, Dr. Tony Gabriel, Palitha Kirthisinghe, Ajit Jayaratne, Dr.

Lal Jayawardena Lal R. Jayawardena ( Sinhala:ලාල් ජයවර්ධන) (1935–2004) was a noted Sri Lankan economist and diplomat. He was the first director of the World Institute for Development Economics Research (WIDER) (1985–1993) and Sri Lankan ...

, Dr. Mano Muttucumaru and Dr. Gihan Tennekoon. Ramanathan married Mano, daughter of Suppiah Saravanamuttu, a lawyer from Colombo.

Career

Ramanathan worked for the British

Inland Revenue The Inland Revenue was, until April 2005, a department of the British Government responsible for the collection of direct taxation, including income tax, national insurance contributions, capital gains tax, inheritance tax, corporation ta ...

for a while before returning to Ceylon. He became an

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

of the Supreme Court and practised law. He joined the Attorney-General's Department in the late 1970s as a crown counsel. He was appointed to the High Court in 1978 and served in Matara,

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

and

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. In 1985 he was appointed to the Court of Appeal. He was later promoted to President of the Court of Appeal. He was then appointed to the Supreme Court. Ramanathan was elected

Master of the Bench A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

. 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 The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. Ramanathan was awarded the

title, the second highest civilian honour in Sri Lanka, by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Chandrika Kumaratunga Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්‍රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...

Later life

After retiring from the Supreme Court Ramanathan was appointed the 4th

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Western Province Western Province or West Province may refer to: *Western Province, Cameroon *Western Province, Rwanda *Western Province (Kenya) *Western Province (Papua New Guinea) *Western Province (Solomon Islands) *Western Province, Sri Lanka *Western Provinc ...

in 2000. He was appointed

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the new

Uva Wellassa University Uva Wellassa University (abbreviated as UWU) is a Sri Lankan national university. The university was established by government gazette effective 1 June 2005 in Badulla, Sri Lanka as the 14th national university of Sri Lanka. President Chandrik ...

in July 2005. 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. Ramanathan was a member of the kennel club and regularly displayed his dogs at shows. One of his

dachshunds The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

won the "Champion of Champions" title at a dog show in

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

in the 1990s. He was also a

Rotarian Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

and a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Ramanathan died on 7 December 2006.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramanathan, P. 1932 births 2006 deaths Alumni of Saint Joseph's College, Colombo Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter Ceylonese advocates Deshamanya Governors of Western Province, Sri Lanka High Courts of Sri Lanka judges Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration People from Colombo Presidents of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Hindus Sri Lankan judges of international courts and tribunals Sri Lankan Tamil judges Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers Sri Lankan expatriates in India