The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of AG Perarivalan, who was convicted for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1998.

Perarivalan was 19 when Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by LTTE suicide bombers on May 21, 1991, while he was participating in an election rally in Sriperumbudur, 50 km from Chennai.

Perarivalan was picked up by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for his alleged role in buying two 9-volt batteries used in the bombing. In 1998, the TADA court sentenced him to death.

The top court used the powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to order the release, taking into consideration his good conduct in jail, educational qualifications acquired while in custody and medical condition. Article 142 of the Constitution enables the Supreme Court to take a decision that will do complete justice in a case.

Here’s a timeline of events in the Perarivalan case:

May 21, 1991:

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a suicide bomber (Dhanu/Thenmozhi Rajarathinam) from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Sriperumbudur at 10.20 pm. Dhanu triggered a belt bomb that killed Gandhi and 16 others.

June 11, 1991: The CBI, investigating the case, arrests 19-year-old Perarivalan for helping one of the masterminds in the assassination, Sivarasan, by buying the two 9-volt batteries that were used in the bomb to kill Rajiv Gandhi. Along with the other accused, Perarivalan was booked under the Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA).

May 20, 1992: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI chargesheets 41 accused, including 12 dead and three absconding, in the killing. The case is brought before a special TADA trial court in Chennai.

January 28, 1998: After a prolonged trial, the TADA court sentences Perarivalan and 25 others to death.

May 11, 1999: The Supreme Court releases 19 death convicts but upholds the sentence of four, including Perarivalan. The apex court commutes the death sentence to life in jail for three others. The apex court also strikes out the TADA provisions from the case.

October 17, 1999: The four death convicts -- Nalini, Murugan, Santhan, and Perarivalan -- file a clemency petition before the Tamil Nadu Governor after the Supreme Court dismisses their appeal. The same month, the Tamil Nadu Governor rejects their clemency.

April 21, 2000: Tamil Nadu Governor accepts clemency for Nalini and forwards the mercy plea of three others to the President of India

August 11, 2011: Then President Pratibha Patil rejects the mercy plea. The three were to be hanged on September 9, 2011, but the Madras High Court HC stayed the execution orders.

November 2013: Former CBI SP V Thiagarajan, who had taken Perarivalan’s confession in TADA custody, says the latter never said he knew the battery he procured would be used to make the bomb for the assassination.

January 21, 2014: The apex court commutes the death penalty of three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi case to life imprisonment.

December 2015: Perarivalan submits a mercy plea to the Tamil Nadu Governor and also seeks release under Article 161 of the Constitution. However, when he does not get any reply from the governor, he moves Supreme Court.

August 25, 2017: For the first time since his arrest, Perarivalan is granted parole by the Tamil Nadu government.

September 9, 2018: The Tamil Nadu cabinet recommends the release of all those convicted in the assassination.

January 23, 2021: The Supreme Court orders the governor to take a decision on the cabinet recommendation, saying the apex court will be forced to release them for inordinate delay. The governor sends the petition to the President to decide on the remission of the sentence.

May 19, 2021: Perarivalan is again granted parole, which is extended by the DMK government.

March 9, 2022: Perarivalan is granted bail by the Supreme Court.

May 18, 2022: Thirty-one years after his arrest, Perarivalan walks free after the Supreme Court orders his release.

ALSO READ: Supreme Court orders release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict AG Perarivalan

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)

First Published:May 18, 2022 5:41 PM IST