Rising Protests See Lecture By Just Released Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Convict Moved To Online From ACJ Venue

The National Law University in Delhi was established in 2008 under the National Law University Act, 2007 with the objective of imparting comprehensive and inter-disciplinary legal education. Project 39 is inspired by Article 39-A of the Indian Constitution, a provision that furthers the intertwined values of equal justice and equal opportunity by removing economic and social barriers. It holds annual lectures under Project 39. The 5^th Annual Project 39 lecture was supposed to be held at the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) in Chennai. ACJ is part of The Hindu Group of publications. The speaker this time around is A G Perarivalan, a death row prisoner in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.  Fifty-year old Perarivalan, arrested in 1991, is now out of prison under an order from the Supreme Court. But the decision of ACJ to provide its space for hosting the lecture drew flak from varied quarters. Assorted questions were raised over the ACJ accommodation for this particular lecture programme of Perarivalan. In the wake of rising opposition, the organisers have decided to turn this into an online lecture. The title of the lecture is “Denial of Justice and A Quest Unfinished”. Asserting their commitment to Perarivalan to share his experience in the prison, the organisers said that they were taking the lecture online in view of the threat perception over the choice of speaker. This lecture will now go online on December 17.