AG Venkataramani Hails K Parasaran as ‘Saint Lawyer’ Fusing Dharma and Law

CHENNAI – In a heartfelt tribute to a titan of the Indian legal fraternity, Attorney General for India, R. Venkataramani, lauded former Attorney General K. Parasaran as a "saint lawyer" whose distinguished career represents a profound fusion of dharma and constitutional law. The remarks were delivered at a special ceremony in Chennai, organized by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, to commemorate Parasaran's platinum jubilee—75 years at the Bar—and his golden jubilee as a Senior Advocate.

The event, attended by eminent personalities including Supreme Court Justices Vikram Nath, MM Sundaresh, PS Narasimha, and KV Viswanathan, served as a forum to reflect on Parasaran's enduring legacy. Venkataramani articulated a vision of law deeply intertwined with spiritual and ethical principles, holding up Parasaran's life as the preeminent example of this synthesis. He posited that Parasaran's deep-seated devotion to Lord Ram was not separate from his constitutional duties but was, in fact, the wellspring from which his understanding of law and ethics flowed.

The Confluence of Faith and Constitution

At the core of the Attorney General's address was the concept that for Parasaran, adherence to the Constitution was not a mere secular duty but an extension of a higher spiritual faith. Venkataramani painted a picture of a jurist for whom the lines between the sacred and the professional were not just blurred but seamlessly integrated.

"Sir has only one master, Lord Ram, and his allegiance to and love of the Constitution was also shaped by the higher faith," Venkataramani stated, offering a unique perspective on constitutional interpretation. He argued that Parasaran’s mastery of ancient texts like the Ramayana provided him with an innate understanding of complex legal principles. "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," he added.

This framework positions law not as a standalone code of conduct but as a subset of a more expansive ethical and moral order. "For Sir, law is only a phase of dharma, and it can be relevant only if fully founded in dharma," Venkataramani observed. This perspective challenges the purely positivist view of law, suggesting that its legitimacy and efficacy are rooted in its alignment with timeless moral values.

A Life of Spiritual Discipline and Legal Erudition

Throughout his speech, AG Venkataramani emphasized that Parasaran's professional excellence was the product of a life guided by spiritual discipline. He described his predecessor's journey as one marked by "great care, unremitting attention and persistent effort," all anchored in a profound sense of inner purpose.

Parasaran, according to Venkataramani, belongs to a "rare breed of lawyers who have married the mundane with the spiritual, always placing dharma above worldly pressures." This unique ability to influence governance and legal discourse through the lens of ancient values sets him apart. The tribute highlighted personal qualities such as humility, deep erudition, and unwavering moral clarity as the cornerstones of Parasaran's five-decade tenure as a Senior Advocate and his service in the country's highest legal offices.

A Pivotal Role in the Ayodhya Dispute

No reflection on K. Parasaran’s career would be complete without acknowledging his central role in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute. At an advanced age, he led the arguments for the Hindu parties, a task Venkataramani described as a "play of destiny."

"In the play of destiny, many of us lesser mortals disappear as mere bubbles, but Sir was a chosen one," the Attorney General remarked, imbuing Parasaran’s involvement with a sense of historic and spiritual inevitability. He suggested that Parasaran's presence in the final, critical stages of the Ayodhya case was not a matter of chance but the culmination of a lifelong commitment to his principles. This role, in Venkataramani's view, cemented his legacy as a figure whose legal acumen was deployed in service of his deepest convictions.

In a related reflection on the nature of justice and destiny, Venkataramani briefly mentioned his own experience as Attorney General arguing the curative petition in the Union Carbide matter, noting that in that case too, he found that "justice had been done in its time," suggesting a belief in a larger, ordered timeline for judicial and moral resolution.

An Illustrious Career Path

Born in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, in 1927, K. Parasaran's legal journey began at the Madras Bar in 1950. His sharp intellect and dedication saw him rise through the ranks, earning the designation of Senior Advocate in 1975. His career in public service is equally storied; he served as the Advocate General of Tamil Nadu before moving to the national stage as the Solicitor General of India and, ultimately, as the Attorney General for India from 1983 to 1989.

The commemorative event also featured the release of a volume on Parasaran’s life and work, further cementing the legal community's reverence for a man whose career, in the words of the current Attorney General, "embodies the highest ideals of the profession."

For legal professionals, the tribute offers more than just a celebration of a long career. It presents a profound philosophical inquiry into the nature of law itself. It asks practitioners to consider the role of personal ethics, moral clarity, and even faith in shaping a legal career. Venkataramani’s portrayal of Parasaran as a 'saint lawyer' challenges the modern, often technocratic, view of the legal profession, urging a return to a model where the lawyer is not just an advocate but a guardian of dharma —a custodian of justice in its most holistic sense.