Sri Lankan judge
Tellipalai Wanarajah Rajaratnam (21 December 1920 – 15 January 1994) was a Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer, judge and politician. He was a Commissioner of Assize, Supreme Court judge and Member of Parliament.
Early life
Rajaratnam was born on 21 December 1920. He was the son of T. C. Rajaratnam OBE CBE, a proctor for Jaffna. His father, TCR, was a founding member of the United National Party, Chairman of the American Ceylon Mission and Chairman of the CWE and Chairman of the Ceylon-Malaya Tobacco Company.
Wanam was educated at Trinity College, Kandy.[1] After school he entered The University of London and graduated with an honours degree in western classics and law.[1] He was also an avid ballroom dancer.
Wanam married Vimala Ponnusamy in 1953 and had two children, his son Dr Telli C Rajaratnam who took after his father to the field of Law to become an Attorney, Solicitor and Barrister.
Career
Rajaratnam admitted to the bar in 1948.[1] He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1951. He practised law in the UK before returning to Ceylon where he continued to practice law. He worked on the Sathasivam and Bibile MP murder cases.[2] He then joined the judicial service, becoming a Commissioner of Assize in 1970.[1] He was appointed a Supreme Court judge in 1972, a position he held for six years.[1]
Later life
In retirement Rajaratnam wrote two books: A Manual of Industrial Law and Plantation Workers' Manual.[1] He is also published The Bhutto Trial for which he received the Hilal-e-Quaid-i-Azam honour from Pakistan.[1] In 1989 he was appointed to Parliament as a National List MP for the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.[1]
Rajaratnam died on 15 January 1994 at the age of 73.[1]
