Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict AG Perarivalan moves Madras HC seeking passport

AG. Rivalry. File | Photo credit: S. Siva Saravanan

The Madras High Court has directed the Regional Passport Office (RPO) Chennai to consider the statement of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict AG Perarivalan for expedited disposal of his passport application pending at the passport seva kendra (PSK) in Tambaram.

Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy issued the direction while disposing of a court petition filed by the convict seeking direction to both the RPO and the PSK to consider the statement he made on September 1, 2026, for taking a time-bound decision on his Indian passport application.

The petitioner was listed as the 18th accused in the case registered for the assassination of the former Prime Minister by a suicide bomber in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu on 21 May 1991. The case against him was tried under the Special Court for Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987.

The court convicted him of offenses under the Indian Penal Code, the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act, the Passport Act, the Foreigners Act and also the Indian Wireless Telegraph Act and sentenced him to death. The conviction, as well as the death sentence, was upheld by the Supreme Court on 11 May 1999.

The Supreme Court rejected his review petition on 8 October 1999, and then the Governor of Tamil Nadu rejected his pardon applications under Article 161 of the Constitution on 27 October 1999 and 25 April 2000. His petition for presidential pardon under Article 72 of the Constitution was also rejected on 2 August 2000.

Perarivalan’s release

Aggrieved by this, he approached the Madras High Court through a writ petition, which was referred to the Supreme Court in 2012, which commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment on 18 February 2014. Then on 9 September 2018, the state cabinet recommended his release from prison.

On 25 January 2021, the Governor forwarded the Cabinet’s recommendation to the President for a decision, and on 18 May 2022, the Supreme Court ruled that the Governor was bound by the advice of the State Cabinet, whether he liked it or not, and should not have forwarded the recommendation to the President.

Taking into account the convict’s long term of imprisonment for almost 32 years, his satisfactory conduct in prison as well as while on parole, his chronic ailments and educational attainment, the apex court invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to order his immediate release.

Enrollment in the bar

After his release from prison, the petitioner completed his legal education and was enrolled with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP) on 27 April 2026. Member of Parliament R. Sudha representing the Mayiladuthurai constituency objected to such an entry.

However, BCTNP Enrollment Committee Chairman K. Balu replied that the Advocates Act, 1961 allows for the enrollment of convicts after a period of two years from their release, and therefore there was no illegal inclusion of the petitioner in the Bar Roll.

The Center also took a similar stand in a counter-affidavit filed in response to Ms. Sudha’s writ petition against the writ.

Published – October 2, 2026 11:21 AM IST