2 min readChennaiUpdated: Apr 28, 2026 06:19 AM IST
A G Perarivalan, who was once sentenced to death in the assassination case of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and later freed after more than three decades in prison, enrolled Monday as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
At 54, Perarivalan is expected to practice at the Madras High Court, within the same legal system in which he spent 31 years as an accused, convict and appellant.
On Monday, dressed in a black lawyer’s coat, Perarivalan said that his years of litigation inspired him to study law.
“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,” Perarivalan told The Indian Express.
“My 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,” he said.
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 among seven people convicted in the conspiracy case that followed.
For years, Perarivalan’s family and friends argued that he had been wrongfully implicated or punished beyond proportion, with his mother Arputham Ammal petitioning political leaders, chief ministers, judges and activists in a relentless campaign.
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In May 2022, the Supreme Court ordered his release, 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 His death sentence had previously been commuted to life imprisonment, and terrorism-related charges withdrawn.
Soon after leaving prison, Perarivalan enrolled in Dr B R Ambedkar Law College in Bengaluru under Karnataka State Law University. He completed his degree in 2025 and passed the All India Bar Examination the same year.
