Attorney General of India: Tenure, Powers, Article 76 | Attorney General of India UPSC

Who is Attorney General of India?

The post of the Attorney General of India has been described under Article 76 of the Indian Constitution. He/She is the primary legal representative of the Union Government. He/She is responsible for representing the Government in the Supreme Court of India. The appointment of the Attorney General of India is not supposed to be influenced by politics.

Attorney General of India UPSC Notes

Present Attorney General of India	R. Venkataramani
First Attorney General of India	M.C. Setalvad
Who Appoints AG?	President of India
Tenure	Not Fixed, Holds office during the pleasure of the President
Attorney General of India Article	Article 76
Salary	The salary of the Attorney General of India is equivalent to the SC Judge. It is taken out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

First Attorney General of India

The first Attorney General of India was M.C. Setalvad, who was a prominent Indian jurist and independence activist. He served in this post for 13 years, which is the longest duration till now. He was appointed twice as the Attorney General of India and even served from 1947 to 1950, which was a crucial period in the country’s history as it transitioned from British rule to independence.

In addition to his position as the Attorney General, Setalvad was also a respected legal scholar known for his contributions to the development of Indian constitutional law. In fact, he was a strong advocate for social justice and human rights and promoted these values through his practice and writing. Overall, the first Attorney General of India played a critical role in shaping the legal and political landscape of India.

Attorney General of India Article

The Attorney General of India is the highest-ranking law officer and legal advisor of the government of India, according to Article 76. The main job of the Attorney General is to provide legal advice to all government agencies and legal opinions on complex legal issues. Furthermore, he/she also represents the government in legal matters before the Supreme Court of India.

As described under Article 76 of the Indian Constitution, the Attorney General is the primary legal representative of the Union Government. However, his/her appointment is not supposed to be influenced by politics.

Present Attorney General of India

The current Attorney General of India is R. Venkataramani, who was appointed to office in October 2022. He preceded K. K. Venugopal for a three-year term and has 42 years of experience as a lawyer working in some of the highest Indian courts. As the Attorney General, he serves as the highest-ranking law officer and legal advisor of the Government of India.

Furthermore, the Attorney General of India is appointed by the President of India and is regarded as a prominent jurist. However, the tenure of this appointment is not mentioned in the Indian Constitution.

List of Attorney General of India

India has had 16 Attorney Generals to date. R. Venkataramani is the 16th AG, serving the office since 2022. Below is the Attorney General of India List, along with their tenure.

Attorney General of India	Name	Tenure
1st	M.C. Setalvad	28 January 1950 – 1 March 1963
2nd	C.K. Daftari	2 March 1963 – 30 October 1968
3rd	Niren de	1 November 1968 – 31 March 1977
4th	S.V. Gupte	1 April 1977 – 8 August 1979
5th	L.N. Sinha	9 August 1979 – 8 August 1983
6th	K. Parasaran	9 August 1983 – 8 December 1989
7th	Soli Sorabjee	9 December 1989 – 2 December 1990
8th	J. Ramaswamy	3 December 1990 – 23 November 1992
9th	Milon K. Banerji	21 November 1992 – 8 July 1996
10th	Ashok Desai	9 July 1996 – 6 April 1998
11th	Soli Sorabjee	7 April 1998 – 4 June 2004
12th	Milon K. Banerjee	5 June 2004 – 7 June 2009
13th	Goolam Essaji Vahanvati	8 June 2009 – 11 June 2014
14th	Mukul Rohatgi	12 June 2014 – 30 June 2017
15th	K.K. Venugopal	30 June 2017- 01 October 2022
16th	R. Venkataramani	01 October 2022 – till date

Appointment of Attorney General of India

The Attorney General of India is appointed through nomination by the President of India. The President can appoint only a person who qualifies as a Supreme Court judge. Along with this, a few other pointers are required to qualify for the post.

• The candidate should be a citizen of India.
• The candidate should have 5 years of experience as a judge in the High Court of any state.

OR,

• The candidate should have 10 years of experience as an advocate in the High Court of any state.
• The candidate can also be a famous jurist.

Tenure of Attorney General of India

The tenure of Attorney General of India has not been defined by the Indian Constitution. There is no specific or fixed term. Similarly, the constitution does not specify the process to be followed for the removal.

• The President of India can only remove the AG at any given time, as there is no minimum tenure.
• The President appoints the Attorney General after consulting the Council of Ministers. The Convention would also dictate that the removal would be discussed with the Council.
• The AG can resign from the post after submitting their resignation to the President.

Powers and Functions of Attorney General of India

The Attorney General of India is the country’s chief law officer. The AG has a lot of duties and responsibilities to perform, like;

• Legal matters are referred to him/her by the President, to which he/she provides counsel to the Union government.
• The President refers to the Attorney General of India for counsel on legal matters that interest him/her.
• There are three duties that are assigned to the AG by the President. They are;
• For any legal proceeding that concerns the GoI, the AG is to represent them in the Supreme Court.
• Article 143 of the Indian Constitution requires the AG to represent the Union in any proceeding referred to by the President.
• In all cases related to the GoI, the AG shall appear for the court proceedings.

Salary of Attorney General of India

The Attorney General of India is a highly prestigious and influential position in the country. Naturally, the person who serves as and holds the office is compensated accordingly. The salary of the Attorney General of India is determined by the President of India. And like any other professional position, it is determined based on the candidate’s experience, qualifications, and expertise.

Since the information regarding the salary of the Attorney General of India is confidential information, we cannot provide detailed information related to this topic. However, aspirants can get an idea regarding this post and its compensation through the following table.

Type of Work	Compensation
Court Appearances (outside Delhi)	Rs 40,000 per day, every case
For commenting on case statements sent by the Law Ministry	Rs 10,000 per case
Settling pleadings	Rs 5,000 per pleading
Settling Statements of a Case	Rs 6,000 per case
Petitions and Applications for special leaves	Rs 5,000 per case every day
Article 143 writ petitions, suits, appeals, as well as references	Rs 16,000 per case every day

Limitations of the Attorney General of India

Along with the powers and functions of the Attorney General of India, there are also a few limitations put on them, which help to avoid the conflict of interests and duty:

• The Attorney General of India should not advise against the government.
• When asked to appear for the Government of India, he/she should not advise or hold a brief in those cases.
• Without Government’s permission, he/she should not favour accused people in the judgements of criminal cases.
• He shouldn’t be appointed as a director in any company without the government’s permission.

Attorney General of India UPSC

Learning from the Attorney General of India UPSC notes helps candidates prepare for the upcoming Civil Services exam well. They can check the previous year’s questions on this topic below, which will help them to understand the type and difficulty level of questions asked. Additionally, knowing about the present and the first attorney general of India will give them a competitive edge in the exam.

Attorney General of India UPSC Questions

Question 1 – Who is a non-member given the power to participate in the Lok Sabha debates?

1. Vice President
2. Attorney General of India
3. Chief Justice of India
4. None of the above

Answer – B. Attorney General of India

Question 2 – Who among the following holds the office for tenure as per the pleasure of the President?

1. Comptroller Auditor General of India
2. Election Commissioner
3. Attorney General of India
4. Lok Sabha Speaker

Answer – C. Attorney General of India

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