Attorney General R Venkataramani on Saturday said that former Attorney General K Parasaran’s devotion to Lord Ram continues to shape his understanding of the Constitution and his lifelong approach to law and ethics.
He was speaking at a ceremony organised in Chennai by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to mark Parasaran’s platinum jubilee as a lawyer and golden jubilee as a Senior Advocate.
“Sir has only one master, Lord Ram, and his allegiance to and love of the Constitution was also shaped by the higher faith. One who mastered the essence of the Ramayana did not have to labour hard to locate prestigious, precious contemporary legal principles in the diverse context of the holy text,” the Attorney General said.
Venkataramani described Parasaran as a “saint lawyer” whose life exemplifies the fusion of dharma and law.
“For Sir, law is only a phase of dharma, and it can be relevant only if fully founded in dharma,” he observed,
He further said that Parasaran’s professional journey reflects great care, unremitting attention and persistent effort guided by spiritual discipline.
On Parasaran’s pivotal role in the Ayodhya dispute, the Attorney General said:
“In the play of destiny, many of us lesser mortals disappear as mere bubbles, but Sir was a chosen one.”
He said Parasaran belongs to a rare breed of lawyers who have married the mundane with the spiritual, always placing dharma above worldly pressures and influencing governance through ancient values. Venkataramani noted that Parasaran’s presence in the final stages of the Ayodhya case reflected the play of destiny and the culmination of a lifelong commitment to principle.
A significant part of Venkataramani’s address focused on Parasaran’s handling of the Union Carbide litigation arising out of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
Parasaran had to steer uncharted territory in tort law while balancing domestic justice and international scrutiny, a challenge which was unprecedented in our legal history, the AG said.
“It was not mere Donoghue v. Stevenson or like the Wigan Mount case of English tort law. Mass torts was an emerging phenomenon,” AG Venkataramani recalled.
He said many in the legal academy including Professor Upendra Baxi had initially questioned the settlement but time has shown that Parasaran’s approach was guided by prudence and fairness.
The AG added that when he himself as Attorney General had to argue the curative petition in the Union Carbide matter, he found that justice had been done in its time. He also noted Parasaran’s broader cautions in public law, including warnings against opening the doors of justiciability too wide, which he said remain relevant today.
Born in Srirangam in 1927, Parasaran was enrolled at the Madras Bar in 1950. After rising through the ranks, he was designated a Senior Advocate in 1975, completing fifty years in that capacity this year.
He later served as Advocate General of Tamil Nadu, Solicitor General of India and finally Attorney General of India between 1983 and 1989.
Venkataramani said Parasaran’s career embodies the highest ideals of the profession, grounded in humility, erudition and moral clarity. He added that Parasaran’s contributions made the southern Bar proud and inspires younger lawyers to follow his path with confidence.
Venkataramani also recounted his personal interactions with Parasaran when briefing him during the latter's tenure as Attorney General and later in private practice.
“Briefings became learnings and these came with a package of ethical values. Once a student I will remain such a student,” Venkataramani said.
The event featured the release of a commemorative volume on Parasaran’s life and work and was attended by Supreme Court Judges including Justices Vikram Nath, MM Sundaresh, PS Narasimha and KV Viswanathan along with members of the bar and the judiciary