Following uproar over inviting AG Perarivalan, one of the convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, to deliver a lecture on criminal law as part of Project 39A’s annual lecture series, the National Law University Delhi has decided to cancel the event. Perarivalan, who was released in May this year after serving 31 years in prison, was invited to give a lecture titled, “The Denial of Justice and A Quest Unfinished.”
The event that was being organised in partnership with Project 39A, a criminal justice research and litigation centre, faced severe criticism from various quarters. Initially, it was announced that the event would be held at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) in Chennai on December 17, Saturday. Following uproar and threats of protests and physical violence, the event at ACJ was cancelled and Project 39A announced that it would instead be held online.
In a statement on December 13, Project 39A said that they were planning to organise the lecture online following “serious threats of violence and vandalism to the venue” over the choice of speaker. “We are committed to Perarivalan’s freedom to share his experience searching for justice through 31 years of imprisonment. In recognition of our responsibility towards the safety of those involved, the 5th Project 39A Annual lecture will be held online,” the statement said.
However, TNM has learned that NLU later voiced their reservations about going ahead with the event and informed Project 39A that they were pulling out.
On May 18 this year, Perarivalan who was on death row was released by the Supreme Court of India, invoking Article 142 of the Constitution. Perarivalan is one of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and was arrested when he was 19 years old. Scores of mercy petitions and government resolutions were passed in these 31 years, seeking his release.
Perarivalan was convicted for buying two batteries for the bomb used to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi. However, on October 27, 2017, former CBI officer V Thiagarajan who had investigated the assassination and recorded Perarivalan’s confession approached the Supreme Court saying that Perarivalan had said he was unaware of the purpose of the two nine volt batteries he was asked to buy. The officer told the court that he did not include this part in the confession. Though V Thiagarajan’s petition did not bring any relief to Perarivalan, the Supreme Court released him in 2022, ruling that the Tamil Nadu Cabinet’s decision to release him should not have been ignored by the Governor. The Supreme Court invoked its 'extraordinary powers' under Article 142 of the constitution to free Perarivalan.