Senior advocate KK Venugopal has been appointed as new Attorney General for India following the decision of Mukul Rohatgi to step down.
The Attorney General for India is the Indian government’s chief legal advisor, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India.
He is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds office during the pleasure of the President.
He must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court, also must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President and must be a citizen of India.
The 15th and current Attorney General is K K Venugopal. He was appointed by Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India with a tenure of 3 years.
Article 76 deals with Attorney General For India.
Attorney General for India:
(1) The President shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court to be Attorney General for India.
(2) it shall be the duty of the Attorney General to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President, and to discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other law for the time being in force.
(3) In the performance of his duties the Attorney General shall have right of audience in all courts in the territory of India.
(4) The Attorney General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine Conduct of Government Business.
List of Attorney Generals in India:
| Attorney General | Term | Incumbent Prime Minister |
| M. C. Setalvad | 28 January 1950 – 1 March 1963 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| C.K.Daphtary | 2 March 1963 – 30 October 1968 | Jawaharlal Nehru; Lal Bahadur Shastri |
| Niren De | 1 November 1968 – 31 March 1977 | Indira Gandhi |
| S.V. Gupte | 1 April 1977 – 8 August 1979 | Morarji Desai |
| L.N. Sinha | 9 August 1979 – 8 August 1983 | Indira Gandhi |
| K. Parasaran | 9 August 1983 – 8 December 1989 | Indira Gandhi; Rajiv Gandhi |
| Soli Sorabjee | 9 December 1989 – 2 December 1990 | V. P. Singh; Chandra Shekhar |
| G. Ramaswamy | 3 December 1990 – 23 November 1992 | Chandra Shekhar; P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Milon K. Banerji | 21 November 1992 – 8 July 1996 | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
| Ashok Desai | 9 July 1996 – 6 April 1998 | H. D. Devegowda; Inder Kumar Gujral |
| Soli Sorabjee | 7 April 1998 – 4 June 2004 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| Milon K. Banerji | 5 June 2004 – 7 June 2009 | Manmohan Singh |
| Goolam Essaji Vahanvati | 8 June 2009 – 11 June 2014 | Manmohan Singh |
| Mukul Rohatgi | 19 June 2014 – 18 June 2017 [14] | Narendra Modi |
| K.K. Venugopal | 1 July 2017 – | Narendra Modi |
Powers and duties:
The Attorney General is necessary for giving advice to the Government of India in legal matters referred to him. He also performs other legal duties assigned to him by the President.
The Attorney General has the right of audience in all Courts in India as well as the right to participate in the proceedings of the Parliament, though not to vote.[4] The Attorney General appears on behalf of Government of India in all cases (including suits, appeals and other proceedings) in the Supreme Court in which Government of India is concerned.
He also represents the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution.
Unlike the Attorney General of the United States, the Attorney General for India does not have any executive authority. Those functions are performed by the Law Minister of India. Also the AG is not a government servant and is not debarred from private legal practice.
The Attorney General can accept briefs but cannot appear against the Government. He cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings and accept the directorship of a company without the permission of the Government.
The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and four additional Solicitors General. The Attorney General is to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted. All references to the Attorney General are made by the Law Ministry.
