Freedom, when it came, did not just mean stepping outside prison. It meant starting over again. For AG Perarivalan, who was convicted in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, that new beginning is now unfolding in the courtrooms of Tamil Nadu, but on the other side of the bars. Released on remission in 2022, Perarivalan went on to study law at Bengaluru's Dr BR Ambedkar Law College and passed the All-India Bar Examination in 2025, and has now become an advocate.
The same legal system in which Perarivalan spent 31 years of his life as an accused and convict, will now practice as a lawyer at the Madras High Court. He is 54. Donning a black lawyer's gown on Monday, he enroled himself as an advocate at the Bar Association of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
Positioning his own years behind bars since 1991 as a source of insight, Perarivalan says he aims to work on cases involving wrongful detention, delays in justice, and the rights of undertrials, seeking to turn personal experience into legal advocacy.
"Will focus on providing legal aid to prisoners who often lack access to effective representation," Perarivalan told the news agency PTI.
Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari attended the enrolment ceremony of Perarivalan. The chairman of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, P S Amalraj, and vice chairman S Prabakaran participated. Advocate C K Chandrasekkar moved the enrolment motion while chairman of the enrolment committee, K Balu, administered the oath.
Perarivalan was just 19 when he was arrested in connection with the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, which was carried out by the terrorist organisation Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Perarivalan was taken from his home for what his family believed would be a brief interrogation, with assurances that he would return the next day. Trusting those words, his parents themselves handed him over to the police. But he was not released. Instead, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) kept him in custody, denying even his mother access to meet him.
For 59 days, his whereabouts remained unknown. Fearful that approaching the courts might worsen his situation, the family feared filing a habeas corpus petition and believed that their son would soon be freed, and that the justice system would not punish an innocent.
The allegation against Perarivalan was that he bought and supplied a nine-volt battery which was used to detonate the bomb that killed Rajiv Gandhi. And evidence on this charge was testimony by a shopkeeper stating that Perarivalan bought the battery from his shop. The 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 the assassination. He was initially sentenced to death by the court. This judgement was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999. The Supreme Court in 2014 commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment due to an 11-year delay by the Government of India in deciding his mercy petition.
After years of legal battle by Perarivalan's family, the Supreme Court ordered the release of Perarivalan on May 18, 2022, invoking the power under Article 142, after he spent 31 years in prison in the assassination case.
Perarivalan did not let his imprisonment stop his educational aspirations. While in prison, he continued his education. He secured a gold medal after topping a diploma course conducted by Tamil Nadu Open University. He also ranked first among inmates in the Plus Two examination, scoring 1,096 out of 1,200.
During his incarceration in Central Prison, he went on to complete a Bachelor's degree in Computer Applications and a Master's in Computer Applications from Indira Gandhi National Open University, along with seven additional diploma courses. He had completed some of them when he was facing the death penalty.
After his release in 2022, Perarivalan joined Dr BR Ambedkar Law College in Bengaluru and completed his degree. Later, he passed the All-India Bar Examination in 2025.
"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 newspaper after his induction to the Bar Association of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry as an advocate.
Perarivalan's journey has come full circle, as he has now entered the courtroom to help prisoners still waiting for justice.
