A G Perarivalan, a life prisoner in the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi assassination case who was released on remission in 2022, has registered as an advocate with the Bar Association of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
On April 27, Perarivalan, 54, put on the black robes. He would work as a lawyer in the Madras High Court, specialising in prisoner legal aid.
At the age of 19, he was detained in 1991 on suspicion of providing a 9-volt battery for an explosive device.
On Monday, he received a formal induction into the bar association. Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, was present at the enrolment ceremony.P S Amalraj, the head of the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and S Prabakaran, the vice chairman, took part.
The enrolment motion was made by advocate C K Chandrasekkar, and the oath was delivered by enrolment committee chairman K Balu.
On May 18, 2022, the Supreme Court used its authority under Article 142 to order Perarivalan's release after he had been imprisoned for 31 years in connection with the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
In 2025, he passed the All-India Bar Examination after completing his legal studies at Dr. B R Ambedkar Law College in Bengaluru.
Perarivalan claimed that his protracted legal struggle motivated him to pursue a legal education with the goal of helping those "wrongly confined" and concentrating on criminal justice and post-conviction reforms.