52 Attorney General of India
T
he Constitution (Article 76) has provided for the office of
the Attorney General for India1. He is the highest law officer
in the country.
S
APPOINTMENT AND TERM
The Attorney General (AG) is appointed by the president. He must
be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the
Supreme Court. In other words, he must be a citizen of India and
he must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an
3
2
advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in
the opinion of the president.
The term of office of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution.
Further, the Constitution does not contain the procedure and
grounds for his removal. He holds office during the pleasure of the
president. This means that he may be removed by the president
at any time. He may also quit his office by submitting his
resignation to the president. Conventionally, he resigns when the
government (council of ministers) resigns or is replaced, as he is
appointed on its advice.
The remuneration of the AG is not fixed by the Constitution. He
receives such remuneration as the president may determine.
DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS
As the chief law officer of the Government of India, the duties of
the AG include the following:
1. To give advice to the Government of India upon such legal
matters, which are referred to him by the president.
2. To perform such other duties of a legal character that are
assigned to him by the president.
3. To discharge the functions conferred on him by the
Constitution or any other law.
The president has assigned the following duties to the AG2 :
1. To appear on behalf of the Government of India in all cases
in the Supreme Court in which the Government of India is
concerned.
2. To represent the Government of India in any reference made
by the president to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of
the Constitution.
3. To appear (when required by the Government of India) in
any high court in any case in which the Government of India
is concerned.
RIGHTS AND LIMITATIONS
In the performance of his official duties, the Attorney General has
the right of audience in all courts in the territory of India. Further,
he has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of
both the Houses of Parliament or their joint sitting and any
committee of the Parliament of which he may be named a
member, but without a right to vote. He enjoys all the privileges
and immunities that are available to a member of Parliament.
Following limitations are placed on the Attorney General in
order to avoid any complication and conflict of duty:
1. He should not advise or hold a brief against the Government
of India.
2. He should not advise or hold a brief in cases in which he is
called upon to advise or appear for the Government of India.
3. He should not defend accused persons in criminal
prosecutions without the permission of the Government of
India.
4. He should not accept appointment as a director in any
company or corporation without the permission of the
Government of India.
5. He should not advise any ministry or department of
Government of India or any statutory organization or any
public sector undertaking unless the proposal or a reference
in this regard is received through the Ministry of Law and
Justice, Department of Legal Affairs2a.
However, the Attorney General is not a fulltime counsel for the
Government. He does not fall in the category of government
servants. Further, he is not debarred from private legal practice.
SOLICITOR GENERAL OF INDIA
In addition to the AG, there are other law officers of the
Government of India. They are the solicitor general of India and cart' be
>
-
how
many
t additional solicitor general of India. They assist the AG in the
omnipresent
&
prerogative fulfilment of his official responsibilities. It should be noted here that
of gout
.
only the office of the AG is created by the Constitution. In other The post is created
words, Article 76 does not mention about the solicitor general and under the Law Officers
additional solicitor general. statutory post
-
(Conditions of
The AG is not a member of the Central cabinet. There is a Service) Rules, 1987,
which derive their
separate law minister in the Central cabinet to look after legal authority from the
matters at the government level3 . Advocates Act, 1961
—making it a statutory
post.
Table 52.1 Articles Related to Attorney-General of India at a
Glance
Article No. Subject-matter
76. Attorney-General of India
88. Rights of Attorney-General as respects the
Houses of Parliament and its Committee
105. Powers, privileges and immunities of Attorney-
General
NOTES AND REFERENCES
1. Article 76 of Chapter 1 (The Executive) in Part V (The
Union) of the Constitution deals with the office of the
Attorney General of India. This is the only Article dealing
with this office.
2. Notification No. F. 43–50C, 26 January 1950, Gazette of
India, Extraordinary, Volume VII, p. 33–34.
2a. Inserted vide G.S.R..... (E) dated 25th February, 2005.
3. During the prime ministership of Jawaharlal Nehru, a
proposal was put forward by the Central government
that the office of the Attorney General be merged with
the office of the law minister. It did not materialise.
