Behind bars to member of bar: Arivu rises from the footsteps of gallows to the corridors of court

CHENNAI: AG Perarivalan, who spent more than three dark decades in prison as a death row inmate after being convicted in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi before being released by the Supreme Court in 2022, has donned a new role, enrolling himself as an advocate with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

Perarivalan, ‘Arivu’ for friends and family, was convicted in the assassination of the former prime minister and was sentenced to death. The case and appeals went on for years, during which it went from the Madras High Court to the Supreme Court, and Governor to the President.

Finally, based on his petition, the Supreme Court invoked its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution and ordered his release. On May 18, 2022, Perarivalan came out of bars after undergoing 31 years of imprisonment for a crime he claimed he did not commit.

To those who met him in prison and outside after his release, Perarivalan repeatedly said it was his lack of legal knowledge that significantly prejudiced his case. During his incarceration, he completed BCA and MCA courses from the Indira Gandhi National Open University, and various other diploma courses, earning him the nickname ‘Education Minister’ among fellow inmates of Vellore Central Prison.

After his release, he joined LLB course in Dr BR Ambedkar Law College, Bengaluru, under the Karnataka Law University, and completed the course in 2025. He also cleared the All India Bar Examination the same year.

He also completed seven diploma courses, and even won a gold medal by topping a diploma course conducted by the Tamil Nadu Open University.

At the formal enrolment ceremony presided over by the Madras High Court Chief Justice, 1,248 candidates were enrolled as advocates on Monday, including Perarivalan.