Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict becomes High Court lawyer after 31 years in prison
PTC News Desk: Freedom, for A.G. Perarivalan, was not just about getting out of prison—it meant beginning life again from scratch. Convicted in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Perarivalan has now started a new chapter, this time inside courtrooms as a lawyer instead of as an accused.
After being released in 2022, he studied law at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Law College, cleared the All-India Bar Examination in 2025, and is now a practicing advocate at the Madras High Court. He is currently 54 years old.
The same legal system where he spent 31 years as a prisoner is now where he will work as a lawyer. Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari attended his enrolment ceremony, along with Bar Council officials P.S. Amalraj and S. Prabakaran. Advocate C.K. Chandrasekkar presented his enrolment, and K. Balu administered the oath.
Perarivalan was just 19 when he was arrested in 1991 in connection with the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, which was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). He was accused of buying and supplying a nine-volt battery that was later used in the bomb. The main evidence against him was a shopkeeper’s statement claiming he had purchased the battery.
The case was filed under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). In 1998, a special court found him guilty and sentenced him to death, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999. However, in 2014, the Supreme Court reduced his sentence to life imprisonment because the government took 11 years to decide on his mercy petition.
- With inputs from agencies
