A.G. Perarivalan, Convict in Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case, Becomes Lawyer; Netizens Ask: ‘How Much Democracy Is Too Much Democracy?

Key Points:

Thirty-five years ago, on 21 May 1991, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Thenmozhi Rajaratnam, a member of the rebel organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), wearing an RDX-laden belt under her dress, approached Gandhi to greet him and detonated the bomb, killing 14 people, including Gandhi, in Sriperumbudur village in Tamil Nadu.

A total of 26 people involved in orchestrating the assassination were tried under the TADA Act, and many were awarded death penalties or prison sentences. 

The death sentences of the four accused—Nalini, A.G. Perarivalan, Murugan, and Santhan—were upheld by the Supreme Court in May 1999. Three decades later, one of the accused has returned to the headlines. 

Convict A.G. Perarivalan, who was released from prison on May 18, 2022, under Article 142 of the Indian Constitution, has started a new chapter in his life as an advocate. Article 142 empowers the Supreme Court to use its special authority to ensure complete justice in a case. 

Following his release, on 27 April 2026, Perarivalan officially enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as a lawyer. Turning over a new leaf, his new life as an advocate after serving decades in prison for his involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi has sparked mixed reactions online. “This will happen only in India. If this is any other country, he would have not seen light of the day,” wrote one user. 

See Also: Why M. O. Mathai’s Controversial Memoir Reminiscences of the Nehru Age Is Back in the Headlines After More Than Four Decades?

Perarivalan will practise as a lawyer in the Madras High Court. He later joined a private law college in Karnataka and completed his course. He officially became a lawyer at a ceremony held by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry at the Madras High Court auditorium. Several well-wishers of Perarivalan shared his photograph wearing a black coat, symbolising the legal profession. In 2025, he cleared the All India Bar Examination after completing his course. 

He told The Hindu that his battle with the law inspired him to become a lawyer and motivated him to study law while in prison. He said, "My focus will be on cases related to the anti-death penalty and human rights."

Perarivalan, who is set to begin his journey as a lawyer, also holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in computer applications. According to The Hindu, he also possesses seven diplomas and completed some of the courses while serving time in prison, including during the period he was facing the death penalty.”

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Perarivalan in June 1991 for allegedly providing a battery that was used in the assassination plot of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 2014, and he has maintained ever since that he was unaware of what the battery was used for.

Other convicts, such as Santhan, passed away in 2024, while Nalini and Murugan were released from prison in 2022.

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