Deshamanya Deshamanya (; ; Pride of the Nation) 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 prefi ...

Shivakumaran Pasupati (26 August 1928 – 17 January 2025) was a Sri Lankan

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

lawyer,

President's Counsel A president's counsel ( postnominal PC) is an eminent lawyer who is appointed by the President of Sri Lanka as an individual "learned in the law". The term is an honorific that replaced the Queen's Counsel (QC), which Sri Lanka ceased appointing ...

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

Early life and family

Pasupati was the son of physician V. T. Pasupati and Kamalambikai. He was educated at the

Ananda College Ananda College () is a Prestigious Buddhist school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is often known as "The Pinnacle of buddhist education " It is the largest national Buddhist school for boys in Sri Lanka, with a student population exceeding 8000 ac ...

and

Jaffna Hindu College Jaffna Hindu College (; ; abbreviated as JHC) is a National school (Sri Lanka), national school in Jaffna, Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1887 by a group of Hinduism in Sri Lanka, Hindu people who wanted an English language alternative to the Christi ...

. After school he joined the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univ ...

from where he graduated with a degree in law. He then obtained Post-Graduate Diploma in International Law from the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Career

Pasupati was Director of Public Prosecutions. He was

between 1974 and 1975. He then served as

from 1975 to 1988. Pasupati was a

. Pasupati was awarded the

title, the second highest Sri Lankan national honour, in 1989.

Later life and death

Pasupati moved to Australia and served as a legal advisor for the rebel

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eela ...

. He took part in the Norwegian peace process between 2002 and 2006. Pasupati was chairman of Australians for Human Rights of the Voiceless and president of the Tamil Senior Citizens' Association (NSW). Pasupati died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia on 17 January 2025, at the age of 96.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasupati, Shiva 1928 births 2025 deaths Alumni of Ananda College Alumni of Jaffna Hindu College Alumni of the University of Ceylon P Australian people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Deshamanya President's Counsels (Sri Lanka) P Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan lawyers