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TAMIL

In Memory of Mrs. Gowry Shangary Thavarasha Senior Attorney-at-law

- A life of Diversity with an Attitude of Service Mind -

BIOGRAPHY

Mrs.Gowry Shangary Thavarasha (1955 -2021), Senior Attorney-at-law, was born on 29th day of October 1955  in  Jaffna, Alaveddy, Sri- Lanka, to Shanmugasundaram and Jamunadevi. She was the loving sister of Pushpa Gowry (Monarch), Gowry Malar (Canada), Gowry Nathan (Germany), Gowry Mohan (London), Gowry Priyadarshini (London) and Vijaya Gowry (Canada). She got married to Mr. K.V. Thavarasha on 16th of June 1984 who is the son of Velayuthapillai (Proprietor of the Raja Stores, Ratnapura) and Sellamma (Punguduthivu). Mr.Thavarasha and Mrs.Gowry Shangary always  had a tremendous bond of love and fondness each other in their  legal and family life as well.

Mr. K.V Thavarasha, President’s Counsel who was the greatest pillar in supporting to Mrs. Gowry Shangary in circumstances when the Colombo- Hulftdorp Courts complex testified her remarkable services in the dispensation of Justice, Rule of Law, Human Rights and redemption from Arbitrary Arrests, Unlawful  Detentions and  accordingly safeguarding and maintaining the democracy.

Mrs. Gowry  Shangary  secured her prominence in the cases of unlawful arrests and detention of militants, journalists, doctors, temple trustees, customs officers, naval officers, police officers, public  servants, bank  managers  etc.  She  is  the one   who  presided  over  many  cases on a humanitarian basis in the  courts of law  for the violation of the   human  rights  and  in that effort  she  was able to file   more   than  1000   petitions  in cases  of human rights violations  and appeals in the Supreme Court and  as well as in the Court of Appeal without having any racial  prejudice  viz on behalf of former ministers and members of parliament former director of CID and former governor of the western province ; she is an iron lady who appeared  and challenged many  laborious  cases with great courage until her last minute of  breath.

while she  was  in the legal field for the past 35 years, she has widely  recognized and understood and therefore  she has  become a well renowned lawyer in Sri Lanka and  as well as internationally,  and further  she has been accolade by the Swiss Embassy for her impeccable and selfless service.

EDUCATION

Mrs. Gowry Shangary had her primary and secondary education in Jaffna. She secured a Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of Colombo and thereafter completed her final year of law at the Sri Lanka Law College and took her oath in the Supreme Court on 1st of June, 1987.

VOICE FOR THE VOICELESS

Every stone of the Sri–Lankan Supreme Court building bears witness to all the steps Gowry Shangary has taken to raise the voice for the voiceless.

Her free service to the affected indigent people and her service to the underprivileged and in securing their human rights and the ways she preserved human rights to her community is immense.

Gowry Shangary played very active roll very particularly in many fundamental rights cases. Fundamental rights Petition filed on behalf of 14 employees who were injured  with  brutal attack by the police  and  army during a protest on 30th of May 2011 organized by Free Trade Zone employees against the private pension scheme, the fundamental rights petition related to a private medical college popularly known as the SAITAM  affair, the  fundamental rights petition against the detention  of former  minister  Rishad  Bathiudeen and Senior Attorney at Law Hejaaz Omer Hizbullah under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and 11 fundamental rights petition filed in the Supreme Court in the year of 2019 seeking suspension of death penalty that are some of the remarkable  petitions she filed to protect the fundamental rights of the citizens of this  country.

SERVICE AS A LAWYER

Gowry Shangary waged a number of legal battles in the Courts to uphold the Rule of Law against arbitrary detention and to protect human rights to safeguard democracy and illegally detained prisoners. Some of the important cases in which she played a significant role in upholding the rule of law are:

  • Legal battles for the independence of the judiciary, including for Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, who was ousted from the office of Chief Justice.
  • Four petitions in the court seeking permission to bury the bodies of those who died due to Covid 19 situation.
  • Alleged arbitrary and malicious arrest of Former Director of the Criminal Investigation Department Sani Abeysekara, Sri Lanka’s leading criminal investigator. Gowry Shangary wasable to secure his release on bail by the Appeal Court.The cases in the Supreme Court were also filed to defend his patentrights.
  • HijazHezbollahwhowasdeclaredasapolitical prisoner in connection with Easter Sunday’s attacks by the Amnesty International in the HighCourt.
  • Arrest of Srikajan,a senior journalist of   the Veerakesari Daily  News paper  by the Anti-Terrorist Squad in August 1998 on suspicion of having links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE).  He was acquitted by the Court in 1998 after failing to prove any of the charges that were  leveled  against 
  • Journalist Vadivelu Yasikaran, proprietor of ‘Equality’ and a well- known journalist, and Valarmathi, producer of Shakthi TV Show, were arrested and acquitted in 2008 when produced  before  the Court.
  • Arrest and detention of Deportee Chitra, a Danish college student detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. This was reported in 1996. Four Danish Journalists who arrived in Sri Lanka following the  arrested and later released.
  • British women John was arrested in 1996 on charges of spying for the LTTE while returning to Sri-Lanka from Iris who came to Sri Lanka  in search of her son and was later released.
  • Arrest of Veerasubramaniamin who was the Trustee of the Hindu Kathiresan Temple, Colombo 12 for allegedly concealing 20 suicide vests, 2 pistols, 2 grenades and explosives was later released in2008.
  • Uthayan, former Editor of Sudaroli New Paper and Editor-in-Chief of Kalaik Kadir magazine   were  arrested and later released. Despite the arrest of Senior Journalist Vidyadharan on February 26, 2009 on suspicion to have  involvement in two  LTTE  light  air  craft  attacks near the  Katunayake Free Trade Zone porting Colombo on February 20, 2009,which  caused great  deal of controversy in the final  stages of the civil war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he was later  released after failing to prove the charges leveled  against him.
  • Former Member of Parliament Sivanandan Kishore was arrested by the Anti-Terrorist Squad in April 1999 for aiding and abetting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) while serving as a Red Cross official and released in May2000.
  • Nadarajah Karunakaran, a Swiss citizen and owner of a Thai real estate company in Bern, was acquitted by High Court Judge Lalith Jayasuriya Nadarajah Karunakaran, who rejected prosecution testimony and a source of confession in a case filed by the Attorney General in the Colombo High Court on alleged charges of providing financial assistance to LTTE.
  • Four charges were framed  in the Colombo High Court,  including  seven  cases  against  Jayaram Ramanathan, who was arrested  in 2008 for  plotting to  blow  up  a power plant in Elakanda, Wattala, and possessing grenades that could cause severe damage to a train that was moving  from Colombo to Katunayake, later he was released in 2019.
  • She appeared on behalf of her clients in the case that was filed in the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court after the Inspector General of Police lodged a complaint with the Criminal Investigation  Department  against  TNAMPs Jayanandamoorthy, P.Ariyanethran,   Kajendran and Sivajilingam, four Parliamentarians and the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who  made a speech  in support of the struggle for Eelam among the Diaspora who had arranged a  rally in Germany and Australia in 2006 and 2008 during the Pongu Tamil Uprising.
  • The Manager of the Dehiwala Seylan Bank was released in 2012   after being arrested in 2010  on  charges  of  aiding  and  abetting  LTTE  militants to pen bank accounts and transfer funds at the request of  agent of  Pottu Amman at the Dehiwala Seylan Bank.

There are many more remarkable matters and cases that one could relate about Gowry Shangary as her legacy. She is an excellent mentor and guide for the budding lawyers, besides a mother who has nurtured countless junior lawyer under her tutelage. She has fought valiantly for justice in many cases where many lawyers reluctant to appear before the Court and in front of anyone. Her legal history can only be traced back to the lines. Whatever the challenges that Gowry Shangary faced during her 35 years of active practice, there is no doubt that her life was one of diversity and service motivated.

Her demise is an irreparable loss to the society as a whole and her loving family. There is no doubt that the immortal memories of the beloved heroine will remain in our heart forever and forever.