Former Vavuniya High Court Judge Manickavasagam Ilanchelian has alleged that he was forced into retirement after being denied a promotion that he claims he was entitled to by seniority.
Ilanchelian stated that if he had not been compelled to retire, he could have continued serving in the judiciary for another four years.
He revealed that he had written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 21 September 2024, shortly after the latter assumed office, in his capacity as the President of the High Court Judges’ Association. In response, the President had invited him for a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on 28 November 2024.
According to Ilanchelian, ten judges participated in the meeting, and he was the only Tamil among them. He further said that the Sinhala judges accompanying him advised him not to raise the matter of his retirement, and instead they themselves presented related matters to the President.
“I was due to turn 61 on 21 January 2025. By that time, 90 judges were expected to retire, and I was the most senior among them. As the judicial, Christmas, and New Year holidays were approaching, I reminded the President to expedite my appointment,” he said, adding that the President had even taken photographs with him, which he still possesses.
However, Ilanchelian explained that on 12 January 2025, four Court of Appeal judges were promoted to the Supreme Court, creating four vacancies in the appellate court. “According to the seniority list of High Court judges, I was ranked first and should have been promoted before turning 61,” he said, noting that his retirement was scheduled for 20 January 2025.
“But unfortunately for me, on 13 January President Anura Kumara Dissanayake left on a visit to China and returned on Saturday, the 18th. I left the judiciary on the 20th,” he added.
He further claimed that he could have continued to serve for another four years—two years in the Court of Appeal and another two in the Supreme Court—but some referred to his situation as “fate.”
After his retirement, Ilanchelian said he sent four letters seeking clarification but received no reply.
“I did not retire voluntarily. I was forced into retirement. I sent four letters, but none were answered. The President is a good person. As a judge, it is not proper for me to blame anyone. I only want to know where the mistake was made and why it was not corrected,” he said.
He emphasised that he only sought the rights due to him under the law.
“In my life, I have bowed only to justice, fairness, the law, and the judiciary—never to anything else. Such a record should not be written. The field of law is sacred. My service in the field of law is sacred.”
