He attended St. Anthony's English School in Kayts before transferring to Jaffna Hindu College at Grade 6.

After completing his secondary education he studied at Colombo Law College, qualifying as a lawyer in 1946.

In 1984 he succeeded Neville Samarakoon as Chief Justice, the first Tamil to hold that position.

He delivered a number of landmark judgments during his Supreme Court tenure, including the 13th Amendment to the constitution.

In 2001 President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed him as the Chairman of the Presidential Truth Commission on ethnic violence between the period of 1981 and 1984.