Keshava Parasaran (born 9 October 1927) is a lawyer from India. He was Advocate General of Tamil Nadu during President's rule in 1976,

Solicitor General of India The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. They are the second-highest law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitor Generals of India (Addl. SGIs ...

under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then,

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and is its chief advocate in the courts. They are appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution an ...

under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi between 1983 and 1989, till the end of Rajiv Gandhi's tenure. Parasaran was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in the year 2003 and

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without ...

in the year 2011. In June 2012, he received a presidential nomination to the

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

, the upper house of India's parliament, for a period of six years. He is a member of

Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra is a trust set up for the construction and management of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya by the government of India in February 2020. The trust is composed of 15 trustees. Background It was created as per the 2019 Sup ...

. In 2019 the Central Government appointed him to lead the

. However later, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das was appointed to lead the trust. The trust will oversee the construction of Ram Temple in

Ayodhya Ayodhya (; ) is a city situated on the banks of holy river Saryu in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Ayodhya, also known as Saketa, is an ancient city of India, the birthplace of Rama and setting of the great epic Ramayana. Ayodhya wa ...

Early life and education

Born in

Srirangam Srirangam, is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among ...

district of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language ...

, 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''.

Career

Parasaran began his legal practice before the Supreme Court in 1958. He defended the

National Judicial Appointments Commission The National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was a proposed body which would have been responsible for the recruitment, appointment and transfer of judicial officers, legal officers and legal employees under the government of India and ...

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 landmark cases:

Sabarimala case

In the Sabarimala case, Parasaran defended the

Nair Service Society The Nair Service Society (NSS) is an organisation created for the social advancement and welfare of the Nair community that is found primarily in the state of Kerala in Southern part of India. It was established under the leadership of Mannathu ...

by arguing that the ban restricting the entry of menstruating women in the

Sabarimala Temple The Sabarimala Temple (; ml, ശബരിമല ക്ഷേത്രം) is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest ...

is right. He recited paragraphs from the Ramayana to explain the concept of ''Naishtika Brahmacharya,'' that is, the celibate nature of the deity,

Ayyappan Ayyappan an incarnation of dharma sastha, also called Manikandan, is a Hindu deity popular in Southern India, He is considered to be the epitome of dharma, truth, and righteousness and is often called upon to obliterate evil. Although devotion ...

Ayodhya land dispute case

Parasaran successfully fought the Ayodhya land dispute case for the Hindu parties. Furthremore, he has been named as a trustee in the

. He was described as "Pitamah of Indian Bar" by Sanjay Kishan Kaul for his contribution.

Personal life

In 1949, he married Saroja, and has three sons, Mohan Parasaran, who was

during the

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

led UPA 2 Government, Balaji Parasaran, and Satish Parasaran and two daughters.

Award

(2003) *

(2011) * Most Eminent Senior Citizen (2019) * Shri Narayan Guru award (Swarajya award) (2020)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parasaran, K. 1927 births Living people 20th-century Indian lawyers Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in public affairs Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in public affairs Attorneys General of India Senior Advocates in India Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha