Keshava Parasaran (born 9 October 1927) is a lawyer from India. He was Advocate General of Tamil Nadu during the president's rule in 1976, Solicitor General of India under the then Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

, and

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the chief legal advisor of the Government of India. The Attorney General is appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and hold office du ...

under Prime Ministers

and

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

between 1983 and 1989 until the end of Rajiv's tenure. Parasaran was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') 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 Januar ...

in the year 2003 and

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") 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 w ...

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

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

, the upper house of India's parliament, for a period of six years. He is a member of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. In 2019 the Central Government appointed him to lead the Shri 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 in

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

Early life and education

Born in the

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 the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

, 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 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:

Sabarimala case

In the Sabarimala case, Parasaran defended the Nair Service Society by arguing that the ban restricting the entry of menstruating women in the Sabarimala Temple 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, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between S ...

Ayodhya land dispute case

Parasaran successfully fought the Ayodhya land dispute case for the Hindu parties. Furthermore, he has been named as a trustee in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. He was described as "Pitamah of the Indian Bar" by Sanjay Kishan Kaul for his contribution.

Personal life

In 1949, Parasaran married Saroja, and has three sons, Mohan Parasaran, who was Solicitor General of India 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 Ayodhya dispute