Advocate general can be described as the position which is corresponding to the position of the Attorney General. According to Article 165 of the Indian Constitution, an advocate general is provided for the various states. Thus, one may say that an advocate general is the highest law officer for states thereby corresponding to the position of Attorney General of India.
Appointment of the advocate general
The governor is the one who appoints the advocate general. The eligibility for being the advocate general requires one to be qualified such that they can be appointed as the high court’s judgement. Thus, it can be said that the advocate general must be a citizen of India. Apart from this for the duration of ten years the individual should have held the judicial office of India or for the duration of ten years have been the high court’s advocate.
The Term of Office
The Constitution has no fixed term of office in particular for the advocate general. Along with this, there are also no particular processes involved or basis for the removal of the position of the advocate general. The advocate general mainly holds the office during the pleasure of the Governor. Thus, one can also infer that the Governor can at any time remove the advocate general. The advocate general can also resign from this post by simply giving the resignation to the Governor. Conventionally the advocate general resigns when there is a resignation by the Government, that is the Council of members or is replaced, as he is appointed on its advice.
Further, the Constitution of India has no fixed remuneration for the advocate general. The advocate general can receive the remuneration as per the governor’s choice.
Roles and Responsibilities
As the advocate general, there can be several significant roles and responsibilities that the individual might need to take care of. In a state, being the chief law officer, the roles and responsibilities of the advocate general can include: –
- The first role that we shall be discussing is pertaining to giving suggestions which are referred to the advocate general by the governor regarding the legal matters to the Government of the State.
- The advocate general also plays a notable role in performing the various duties that may be given to him by the Governor.
- The advocate general also discharges those functions that are conferred on him by any other law or the Constitution.
Thus, these are three crucial points that shed light on the roles and responsibilities of the advocate general. Apart from these, for performing the duties of the advocate general one is required to come before any court of law within the state.
Rights and Privileges
The advocate general is an important position with significant roles and responsibilities. The position also comes with some rights that the person can enjoy such as the right to speak and to participate in the proceedings of both the Houses of the state legislature or any committee of the state legislature of which the general advocate might be named a member, but not have the right to vote. The advice general can also enjoy all the advantages and immunities which are available to a member of the state legislature.
In the Constitution of India, there are multiple articles pertaining to the advocate general of India such as Article 165, Article 177 and Article 194.
Conclusion
As observed above, the details of the Advocate General are discussed and they help in bringing a lot of clarity on the subject. The various topics included are the roles and responsibilities of the advocate general, the rights and privileges as well as the eligibility criteria. Lastly, it can be concluded that the post of the advocate general is a significant one and plays a crucial role in the welfare of the country.