| The Honourable Justice Deshamanya Manicavasagar Vaithalingam |
|
|---|---|
| Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office December 17, 1964 |
|
| Appointed by | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon | |
| In office April 1980 – March 1985 |
|
| Chancellor of the University of Jaffna | |
| In office January 1, 1979 – 1984 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 17, 1906 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Died | December 27, 1993 Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lanka |
| Spouse(s) | Valamba Manicavasagar nee Selliah |
| Relations | Sir Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Sir Arunachalam Mahadeva, D. M. Swaminathan Justice Siva Selliah |
| Children | Arunachala Manicavasagar, Nirmala Ragunanthan nee Manicavasagar |
| Residence | 78 Ward Place, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Alma mater | Colombo Law College, Royal College Colombo |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Deshamanya Manicavasagar Vaithalingam(December 17, 1906 - December 12, 1993) was a Sri Lankan lawyer, Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka, Chancellor of the University of Jaffna[1] and Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon.
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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 prestigious Royal College, Colombo[2] 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 till his appointment to the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 1964 by President Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
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.[3]
After retiring from the Supreme Court, Vaithalingam was appointed Chairman of the Commercial Bank of Ceylon and was then appointed as the first Chancellor of the University of Jaffna.
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.[4]
In the citizens committee chaired by his former colleague on the bench, O. L. de Krester as well as Bishop Sabapathy Kulendran of the Church of South India in Jaffna, he worked on the Report of the Commission of Inquiry, on the Tragedy of January Tenth 1974.[5]
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.
Vaithalingam married Valamba, the eldest daughter of Nannithamby Selliah of Rosmead Place - son of Visva Udayar Sangarapillai Nannithamby and Broker of Mackwood & Co. - & his wife Sellam - daughter of Kandarthamby Kandiah (Chattambiar) - and sister of Justice Siva Selliah, High Court Judge[6].
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 is married to Ragunanthan Thambimutha, Managing Director of Raniyo (Pvt) Ltd. Both of his children continue to live in Colombo while his grandchildren and great grandchildren now reside in North America.
Vaithalingam and his wife were very prominent within the upper echelons of society. However, he and his wife were both very religious and devout Hindus and always kept an eye on their charity work. Vaithalingam was very close to his wife, and left his high society life for a spiritual undertaking and much subdued persona following her passing.
Vaithalingam remained close friends with Junius Richard Jayewardene up until his death in 1993. As per an anecdote by Justice Naharaja, when the former president came to visit Vaithalingam upon his deathbed, Vaithalingam in a sour state joked about the workings of society by telling Jayewardene that though he had time and again bested him in every academic endeavor throughout their academic career, he had only become a Supreme Court Judge whilst it was Jayewardene that had become President - effectively questioning the workings of society. They all, however, quickly laughed the statement away.