AG Perarivalan, who spent three decades in jail for involvement in the assassination case of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, on Monday (April 27) enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Perarivalan was released in 2022 after spending more than three decades in prison. After release he joined a private law college in Karnataka and completed the course.
The Indian Express reported that Perarivalan (54) is expected to practice law at the Madras High Court, within the same legal system in which he spent 31 years as an accused, convict and appellant. Dressed in a black lawyer’s coat, Perarivalan said that his years of litigation inspired him to study law.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Perarivalan said, “My ambition is not to become a famous criminal lawyer, but to become a voice for the thousands of prisoners behind bars who have no legal assistance, especially for poor life convicts waiting endlessly for premature release, denied justice simply because they cannot afford help.”
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He further said that his dream is to build a criminal justice system that “does not discriminate against convicts”, and one that embraces post-conviction exoneration laws like those in countries such as Australia, Japan and the United States.
Perarivalan’s arrest
Perarivalan was arrested in June 1991, weeks after Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing during an election rally at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. He was arrested for reportedly supplying a 9-volt battery for the explosive device.
For decades, Perarivalan’s friends and family members argued that he was wrongfully punished beyond proportion, with his mother Arputham Ammal petitioning political leaders, chief ministers, judges and activists in a relentless campaign.
Shift from death sentence to life imprisonment
In May 2022, Perarivalan was released by order of the Supreme Court, invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution while citing his prolonged incarceration. His death sentence had previously been commuted to life imprisonment, and terrorism-related charges were withdrawn.
After being released from prison, Perarivalan enrolled in Dr BR Ambedkar Law College in Bengaluru under Karnataka State Law University. In 2025, he completed his degree and passed the All India Bar Examination the same year.
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The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi
On May 21, 1991, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide bombing. After campaigning in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, he was scheduled to stop in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur. The tragic incident took place when the former PM reached the campaign rally in Sriperumbudur where he was to deliver a speech.
The assassin, Kalaivani Rajaratnam, greeted him and then bent down to touch his feet, detonating an RDX explosive-laden belt tucked below her dress. Along with Gandhi, Rajaratnam and 14 others were killed in the explosion and 43 others were grievously injured.
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