Sanjay Rajaratnam Explained

Sanjay Rajaratnam
Honorific-Suffix:	PC
Order:	47th
Office:	Attorney General of Sri Lanka
Appointer:	Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Term Start:	26 May 2021
Term End:	26 June 2024
Predecessor:	Dappula de Livera
Order2:	47th
Office2:	Solicitor General of Sri Lanka
Term Start2:	October 2019
Term End2:	26 May 2021
Predecessor2:	Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe
Father:	Sivakumaran Rajaratnam (Advocate) ^[1]
Education:	Royal College Colombo St Peters College Colombo
Alma Mater:	Sri Lanka Law College Queen Mary University of London
Nationality:	Sri Lankan
Citizenship:	Sri Lankan
Occupation:	Lawyer
Profession:	Attorney-At-Law

Sanjay Rajaratnam, PC is a Sri Lankan lawyer. He is the former Attorney General of Sri Lanka.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} He previously served as the Acting Solicitor General of Sri Lanka from October 2019 up until May 2021.

Family and Education

Sanjay Rajaratnam's father, Sivakumaran Rajaratnam, was an Advocate who took oaths in 1955, and his grandfather was Duraiappah Rajaratnam MBE, a Crown Proctor from Trincomalee,^[7] who was also the first Chairman of the Trincomalee Urban Council.^{[1] [8]}

Rajaratnam received his primary and secondary education at the St. Peter's College, Bambalapitiya and Royal College, Colombo^[9] He then entered the Sri Lanka Law College and qualified as an attorney-at-law. Rajaratnam also received an LL.M. from the Queen Mary University of London and qualified as a solicitor.^[10]

Legal career

He joined the Attorney General's Department in April 1988 as a State Counsel. He was later promoted as Senior State Counsel, and then Deputy Solicitor General.^[11] In 2014, he was appointed as the President's Counsel by the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

In October 2019, he replaced Dilrukshi Dias Wickramasinghe as the acting solicitor general following the latter's leaked controversial phone call with Avant Garde chairman.^{[12] [13]}

On 20 May 2021, the Parliamentary Council approved the appointment of Sanjay Rajaratnam to the position of Attorney General of Sri Lanka replacing Dappula de Livera.^{[14] [15] [16] [17]}

External links

• Attorney-General's Department

Notes and References

1. Web site: Appreciations.
2. Web site: Rajaratnam confirmed as new AG Daily FT. 2021-05-21. www.ft.lk. English.
3. Web site: 2021-05-07. Sanjay Rajaratnam PC considered for Attorney General. 2021-05-21. Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. en.
4. Web site: Acting Solicitor General Sanjay Rajaratnam tipped to become next AG. 2021-05-21. www.adaderana.lk. en.
5. Web site: 2021-05-20. Parliamentary Council agrees to appoint Sanjay Rajaratnam as Attorney General. 2021-05-21. The Morning - Sri Lanka News. en-US.
6. Web site: 2021-05-26. Sanjay Rajaratnam sworn in as Sri Lanka's new Attorney General. 2021-05-29. Colombo Page.
7. Web site: Obituaries | Online edition of Daily News - Lakehouse Newspapers. archives.dailynews.lk.
8. Web site: He was a well known versatile and skilful advocate . . . 19 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230506012051/https://www.pressreader.com/sri-lanka/sunday-times-sri-lanka/20210718/282832194127109 . 2023-05-06 . en . 18 Jul 2021 . live.
9. https://www.attorneygeneral.gov.lk/?page_id=1222
10. Web site: In Brief. 2021-05-21. archives.sundayobserver.lk.
11. Web site: SC calls for discipline at SLI. 2021-05-21. www.sundaytimes.lk.
12. Web site: admin. 2019-10-02. Sanjay Rajaratnam appointed acting Solicitor General. 2021-05-21. Colombo Gazette. en-GB.
13. Web site: 2019-10-02. Sanjay Rajaratnam appointed Acting Solicitor General. 2021-05-21. The Morning - Sri Lanka News. en-US.
14. Web site: Parliament Council approves Sanjay Rajaratnam as AG. 2021-05-21. Daily News. en.
15. Web site: Sanjay Rajaratnam approved as new Attorney General. 2021-05-21. www.adaderana.lk. en.
16. Web site: 2021-05-20. Parliamentary Council approves Sanjay Rajaratnam as new AG. 2021-05-21. Sri Lanka News - Newsfirst. en.
17. Web site: Parliamentary Council agrees to appoint Sanjay Rajaratnam as Attorney General. 2021-05-21. www.news.lk. en-gb.