Keshava Parasaran | |
|---|---|
| MP ofRajya Sabha (Nominated) | |
| In office 29 June 2012 – 28 June 2018 | |
| Attorney General for India | |
| In office 9 August 1983 – 8 December 1989 | |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi |
| Preceded by | L.N. Sinha |
| Succeeded by | Soli Sorabjee |
| Solicitor General of India | |
| In office 6 March 1980 – 8 August 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Indira Gandhi |
| Preceded by | Soli Sorabjee |
| Succeeded by | Milon K. Banerji |
| Advocate General ofTamil Nadu | |
| In office 1976–1977 | |
| Preceded by | Govind Swaminadhan |
| Succeeded by | V. P. Raman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1927-10-09)9 October 1927 (age 98) Srirangam,Tamil Nadu, India |
| Spouse | Shrimati Saroja Parasaran (after 1949) |
| Children | 5, includingMohan Parasaran |
| Parent | R. Kesava Aiyangar (father) |
| Education | B.A. (Economics),Presidency College, Chennai B.L., Law College, Madras |
| Occupation | |
| Awards | Padma Bhushan(2003),Padma Vibhushan(2011) |
Keshava Parasaran (born 9 October 1927) is a lawyer from India. He wasAdvocate General of Tamil Nadu during the president's rule in 1976,Solicitor General of India under the then Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi, andAttorney General of India under Prime MinistersIndira Gandhi andRajiv Gandhi between 1983 and 1989 until the end of Rajiv's tenure. Parasaran was awarded thePadma Bhushan in the year 2003 andPadma Vibhushan in the year 2011. In June 2012, he received a presidential nomination to theRajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, for a period of six years.[1][2] He is a member ofShri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. In 2019 the Central Government appointed him to lead theShri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. However later,Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was appointed to lead the trust. The trust oversaw the construction of the Ram Temple inAyodhya.[3]
Born in theSrirangam district ofTamil Nadu, Parasaran is the son of Kesava Iyengar, a lawyer, and Shrimati Ranganayaki. While pursuing his BL (now, BA. LLB), he was awarded the Shri Justice C.V. Kumaraswami Sastri Sanskrit Medal and Justice Shri V. Bhashyam Iyengar Gold Medal in Hindu Law. During the Bar Council examination, he received the Justice Shri K.S. Krishnaswamy Iyengar Medal.[1]
Parasaran began his legal practice before the Supreme Court in 1958. He defended theNational Judicial Appointments Commission in 2014, as a member of the Rajya Sabha. In a career spanning over six decades, Parasaran is known for his contribution in the following cases:
In theSabarimala case, Parasaran defended theNair Service Society by arguing that the ban restricting the entry of menstruating women in theSabarimala Temple is right. He recited paragraphs from the Ramayana to explain the concept ofNaishtika Brahmacharya, that is, the celibate nature of the deityAyyappan.[4]
Parasaran successfully fought theAyodhya land dispute case for the Hindu parties.[5][6] Furthermore, he has been named as a trustee in theShri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra.[5] He was described as "Pitamah of theIndian Bar" bySanjay Kishan Kaul for his contribution.[6]
In 1949, Parasaran married Saroja, and has three sons,Mohan Parasaran, who wasSolicitor General of India during theCongress ledUPA 2 Government, Balaji Parasaran, and Satish Parasaran and two daughters.[1][4]
