Furore Over Bar Council Enrolment Of Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case Ex-convict

Chennai: The enrolment of A G Perarivalan alias Arivu, an ex-life convict in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, as a lawyer with the Bar Association of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry has created a furore.

Perarivalan was one of the four convicts in the case whose death penalty was upheld by the Supreme Court. However, after the President delayed action on his mercy plea, his death sentence was commuted to life by the Apex Court along with that of two other black warrant prisoners. Subsequently, four years ago, the Supreme Court ordered his release as the Governor and President inordinately sat on the Cabinet’s recommendation to set them free.

Arivu, who had acquired multiple educational qualifications while in prison, upon his release enrolled for a law degree at the Dr B R Ambedkar Law College in Bengaluru affiliated to the Karnataka Law University, and completed his course.

On Monday, he was formally enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He told journalists as a lawyer he shall be taking up human rights cases and also those against death penalty.

Raising strong objections to his enrolment as lawyer, Congress MP R Sudha on Wednesday wrote to the President seeking “to address a gap or vacuum in law relating to enrolment of people convicted for serious offences including acts of terrorism.”

Arguing that a court-inspired clemency cannot be unconditional and without any preconditions as to their future activities, such as getting enrolled in the Bar Council or holding any sensitive public office in any part of the country and in any capacity, she said, there is no iota of doubt about the involvement of Perarivalan in the assassination.

“His later release in May 2022 was merely on the ground of inordinate and unexplained delay in deciding his pending mercy petitions,” she said questioning the Bar Council’s decision to enrol Arivu as a lawyer as the election process for the council’s new office bearers was still underway.

Sudha, therefore, urged the President to refer the enrolment of Perarivalan to a larger bench of the Madras High Court hearing a related case on enrolling people with cases and pending against them and to suspend his enrolment until then and prohibit him from appearing as lawyer in any judicial forum.

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However, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry enrolment committee chairman Balu said Arivu’s enrolment was done as per law and there was no provision to disqualify him forever.

He said Section 24A of the Advocates Act of 1961 states that no person convicted of an offence involving moral turpitude should be enrolled with the bar councils. However, such disqualification for enrolment shall cease to have effect “after a period of two years since the convict concerned had been released from prison.” In the instant case Arivu does not have any such disqualification, he contended.