| S. Thurairaja | |
| Native Name: | எஸ். துரைராஜா |
| Native Name Lang: | ta |
| Honorific Suffix: | PC |
| Office: | Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka |
| Term Start: | 9 January 2019 |
| Appointer: | Maithripala Sirisena |
| Predecessor: | K. T. Chitrasiri |
| Office2: | Justice of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka |
| Term Start2: | 15 September 2016 |
| Term End2: | 9 January 2019 |
| Birth Name: | Sithambarampillai Thurairaja |
| Birth Place: | Central Province, Sri Lanka |
| Profession: | Lawyer |
| Mawards: | is not set --> |
Sithambarampillai Thurairaja, PC (Tamil: சிதம்பரப்பிள்ளை துரைராஜா|translit=Citamparappiḷḷai Turairājā) is a Sri Lankan lawyer and a sitting puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. He was formerly a justice of the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka and High Court of Fiji.
Thurairaja was educated at Saraswathy Maha Vidyalayam in Pussellawa and St. Anthony's College, Kandy.[1] [2] He has a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Colombo and a Master of Laws degree from the University of London.[3] He also holds diplomas in forensic medicine, business information technology and computer appliances.[3]
Thurairaja qualified as an attorney-at-law in 1988 and joined the Attorney General's Department in 1989.[4] He rose up the ranks to become Senior State Counsel, Deputy Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor General.[5] [6] [7] He was a high court judge in Fiji.[8] [9] He was appointed President's Counsel in 2016.[4]
Thurairaja was appointed to the Court of Appeal of Sri Lanka in September 2016, becoming the first Indian Tamil to be appointed to the court.[2] [4] In October 2018 the Constitutional Council recommended that Thurairaja be appointed to the Supreme Court.[10] President Maithripala Sirisena refused to follow the recommendation and suggested alternative names but in January 2019 the Constitutional Council reconfirmed its recommendation of Thurairaja.[11] [12] He was sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court on 9 January 2019.[13] [14]