Chennai: Life has turned 360 degrees for A G Perarivalan.
A convict who spent 31 years in prison, Perarivalan will now argue and battle for justice for others who are in the same boat as he was three-and-a-half decades ago.
One of the seven life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, Perarivalan was released from jail in 2022 following a Supreme Court order. On April 27, 2028, Perarivalan enrolled as a lawyer with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Now 54, Perarivalan pursued law at Bengaluru’s Dr BR Ambedkar Law College after his release from jail. Having come out with flying colours in the All-India Bar Examination in 2025, he will now wear the black gown and practise in the same courts where he stood as an accused for 31 years.
Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, Chief Justice of Madras High Court, attended the enrolment ceremony of Perarivalan.
It’s nothing short of a fairytale transformation in a person’s life, one which can serve as an inspiration for millions.
Perarivalan wants to use his own years behind bars as a source of insight, and aims to work on cases involving wrongful detention, delays in justice and the rights of undertrials.
“Will focus on providing legal aid to prisoners who often lack access to effective representation,” Perarivalan told PTI.
19-year-old arrested for supplying battery
The former Prime Minister was killed with at least 14 others in a suicide bombing — carried out by the terrorist organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) — in Tamil Nadu’s Sriperumbudur on 21st May, 1991.
Perarivalan, just 19 years old then, was arrested for supplying a 9-volt battery for the explosive device which was used for detonation after Rajiv arrived for an election campaign.
Perarivalan was picked up by police from his home for what his family believed would be a brief interrogation. But young Perarivalan was not released, and kept in Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody.
A case was filed under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).
In 1998, the TADA court convicted Perarivalan and others accused of conspiracy to murder in Rajiv assassination case.
Perarivalan was initially sentenced to death, and the judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999.
His mother Arputham Ammal didn’t give up, believing that her son was wronged by the system.
In 2014, the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment due to an 11-year delay by the Indian government in deciding his mercy petition.
Finally, after decades of legal battle by Perarivalan’s family, the Supreme Court ordered his release on May 18, 2022, invoking the power under Article 142.
