| Keshava Parasaran | |
| Birth Date: | 1927 10, df=y |
| Birth Place: | Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Parents: | R. Kesava Aiyangar (father) |
| Children: | 5, including Mohan Parasaran |
| Education: | B.A. (Economics), Presidency College, Chennai B.L., Law College, Madras |
| Office: | MP of Rajya Sabha (Nominated) |
| Term Start: | 29 June 2012 |
| Term End: | 28 June 2018 |
| Office1: | Attorney General for India |
| Term Start1: | 9 August 1983 |
| Term End1: | 8 December 1989 |
| Predecessor1: | L.N. Sinha |
| Successor1: | Soli Sorabjee |
| Primeminister1: | Indira Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi |
| Office2: | Solicitor General of India |
| Term Start2: | 6 March 1980 |
| Term End2: | 8 August 1983 |
| Primeminister2: | Indira Gandhi |
| Predecessor2: | Soli Sorabjee |
| Successor2: | Milon K. Banerji |
| Office3: | Advocate General of Tamil Nadu |
| Term Start3: | 1976 |
| Term End3: | 1977 |
| Predecessor3: | Govind Swaminadhan |
| Successor3: | V. P. Raman |
| Awards: | Padma Bhushan(2003), Padma Vibhushan(2011) |
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, and Attorney General of India under Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi between 1983 and 1989 until the end of Rajiv's tenure. Parasaran was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the year 2003 and Padma Vibhushan in the year 2011. In June 2012, he received a presidential nomination to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's parliament, for a period of six years.[1] 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.[2]
Born in the Srirangam district of Tamil Nadu, 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.[3]
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:
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.[4]
Parasaran successfully fought the Ayodhya land dispute case for the Hindu parties.[5] [6] Furthermore, he has been named as a trustee in the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra. He was described as "Pitamah of Indian Bar" by Sanjay Kishan Kaul for his contribution.
In 1949, Parasaran married Saroja, and has three sons, Mohan Parasaran, who was Solicitor General of India during the Congress led UPA 2 Government, Balaji Parasaran, and Satish Parasaran and two daughters.