In a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the release of AG Perarivalan, who is one of the convicts in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and has been behind bars for 31 years.

The court passed the order considering his good conduct in jail, medical condition, educational qualifications acquired while in custody and the pendency of his mercy plea with the Tamil Nadu Governor since 2015. Speaking shortly after the verdict, Perarivalan said, "Truth and justice were on our side. This wouldn't have happened without the support and love of the people." Nineteen at the time of the assassination, Perarivalan was accused of buying the two 9-volt batteries for Sivarasan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) man who masterminded the assassination. The batteries were used in the bomb to assassinate Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Perarivalan was sentenced to death by a TADA court in 1998, and the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in 1999. The sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Supreme Court on February 18, 2014, along with the death sentences awarded to other convicts in the case, Murugan and Santhan.

Perarivalan, who was in solitary confinement for many years, has a very good conduct record in jail. He had earned several academic qualifications during his long incarceration. He had also authored a book.