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 ...

Chellappah Nagalingam, KC (25 October 1893 – 25 October 1958) was a leading

Ceylonese Sri Lankan or Ceylonese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Sri Lanka * A person from Sri Lanka, see Demographics of Sri Lanka ** Sinhalese people, the ethnic majority ** Sri Lankan Tamils, an ethnic minority ** Sri ...

judge and lawyer. He was a Judge of the

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

and served as acting

Governor-General of Ceylon The Governor-General of Ceylon was the representative of the Ceylonese monarch in the Dominion of Ceylon from the country's independence in 1948 until it became the republic of Sri Lanka in 1972. History There were four governors-general. ...

in 1954. He also served as acting Chief Justice, acting

Legal Secretary A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession. Background In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is a person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secreta ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. He was the first

Ceylon 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 Pro ...

to be appointed to the bench of the Supreme Court of Ceylon. He is also considered as the founder of Hindu College Colombo

Early life and family

Nagalingam was born on 25 October 1893. He was the son of Chellappah and Meenachchi from Urumpirai in Northern Province of

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He hailed from a distinguished family and had four eminent brothers: C. Suntharalingam, a member of parliament and government minister; C. Panchalingam, a medical doctor; C. Amirthalingam, Director of Fisheries; and C. Thiagalingam, a leading lawyer. Nagalingam was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and

Royal College, Colombo Royal College, Colombo is a Single-sex education, selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academ ...

where he excelled in studies and sports and won the ''De Soysa Science Prize''. Thereafter he entered

Ceylon Law College Sri Lanka Law College (abbreviated as SLLC), formerly known as Ceylon Law College, is a law college, and the only legal institution where one can enroll as a attorney-at-law in Sri Lanka. It was established in 1874, under the then Council of Legal ...

, qualifying as an advocate in 1917. Nagalingam married Gnanam, daughter of Vaithilingam. They had two sons (Yogalingam and Bakthilingam) and four daughters (Maheswari, Sarveswari, Vigneswari and Nandeswari).

Career

After Nagalingam was called to the bar, he practised law in

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 ...

until 1937. In 1938 he was appointed as an Additional District Judge of

. He was appointed District Judge of

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 1941 and acting

in 1946. He was also appointed

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

in 1946. In 1947 he became acting

, one of the three official members of the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative autho ...

, heading committee of justice with ministerial rank in the Board of Ministers. He was also called to the bench as an acting

Puisne Judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

and was confirmed judge of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in 1947, the first Tamil to hold that post. He was later appointed Senior Supreme Court Judge and acted as Chief Justice on a number of occasions. In this capacity he was called upon to briefly serve as acting

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

in 1954 whilst Lord Soulbury was out of the country. Nagalingam was chairman of the ''Civil Courts Commission'' and the ''Salaries Commission'', and member of the ''Council of Legal Education'' and the ''Judicial Service Commission''. Nagalingam was one of the founders of the ''Hindu Educational Society'' which founded the

Colombo Hindu College Hindu College Colombo or Colombo Hindu College ( ta, இந்துக் கல்லூரி - கொழும்பு ) is a Tamil language National School situated at Bambalapitiya, in the suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 195 ...

in 1951. Nagalingam died on 25 October 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nagalingam, C. 1893 births 1958 deaths Acting Chief Justices of Ceylon Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Attorneys General of British Ceylon British Ceylon judges Ceylonese advocates Ceylonese Queen's Counsel District Courts of Sri Lanka judges Governors-general of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka Puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Ceylon 20th-century King's Counsel Sri Lankan Tamil judges Sri Lankan Tamil lawyers