Honorable Henry Alexander Patrick Sandrasagra

Henry Alexander Patrick Sandrasagra
Mr. HAP Sandrasagra is the son of Mr. JN Sandrasagra, superintendent of Minor Roads, Jaffna. His grandfather was the first Gregorian Knight in Ceylon, having been decorated by Pope Leo XIII. He was a personal friend of Sir William Gregory, the Governor of Ceylon and possessed several medals and other decorations conferred upon him at various times. The subject of his sketch was born on June 12th 1875, and educated at St. Patrick's College. He afterwards studied under the counsel of Legal Education, and was called to the Bar in 1898 as an Advocate of the Superior Court of Jaffna. He has been practicing there ever since. Mr. Sandrasagra is married to Josephine, daughter of the late Mr. Simon Cherubim. (Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon by Arnold Write, 1999, pg.788-789) Kindly recommended by Kumaran Kumaresan.

Honorable Henry Alexander Patrick Sandrasagra K.C. 1875
Member Legislative Council, Advocate, MLC
Henry Alexander Patrick Sandrasagra born 12th June 1875 was the son of JN Sandrasagra, superintendent of Minor Roads, Jaffna. His historical ancestry may be read under Pootha Nathar. He was educated at St. Patrick's College, Jaffna. Later he studied Law. Becoming an Advocate, he commenced his legal career at the Jaffna bar in 1898. He rapidly distinguished himself as a prominent lawyer. He was known for his witty comments and biting remarks about his opponents. He was engaged in specially difficult cases. At that time there was also another leading advocate Thampoe Duraiswamy (SW Tampoe) Very often these two appeared opposite to each other.
Sandrasagra later shifted his practice to the more lucrative Colombo bar. He soon enjoyed the reputation of being a successful lawyer there. In recognition of his ability he was made a King's counsel.
He interested himself in politics and was a member of the Ceylon Legislative Council in 1929. He remarried in Colombo till his demise. He married Josephine, daughter of Interpreter Mudaliyar Simon Cherubim and had a son Wilfred and two daughters.
The dictionary of biography of Tamils in Ceylon compiled by Shanmugam Arumagam, er. al. 1997