Understanding All About Attorney General Of India

The attorney general is the supreme authority and holds the ultimate power over the government of India.  He is also the chief advisor in legal matters. The President of India appoints an attorney general after taking advice from the union cabinet, according to article 76 (1) of the Indian constitution. The attorney general holds the office for the tenure of the President. 

To qualify for the attorney general post, the person must have the qualification required to become a judge of the supreme court in India. Therefore he must have been a judge in the supreme court for a tenure of 5 years, or he may have been an advocate in any High court for a duration of 10 years. He may also have been an essential jurist in the President’s opinion.

Do you know who is the attorney general and who was first appointed? M.C. Setalwad was the first attorney general of India, who was established in 1950. 

What are the duties and powers of the attorney general?

The attorney general advises the Government of India on legal matters and performs other lawful duties that are assigned to them by the president of India. There is no difference between attorney general and solicitor general with respect to their duties except that the attorney general has the supreme power over the solicitor general. An Attorney general can participate in all the proceedings of the Parliament, even though he will not be entitled to vote. All the cases in the supreme court where the Government of India is concerned are looked after by the attorney general of India. He also represents the Government of India in any reference in the Supreme court that the President makes of India according to article 143 of the constitution.

The attorney general of India has executive authority just like that of the US. An attorney general cannot be debarred from private practices as he is not a government servant. The law minister of India performs these functions.

Being an essential part of the government, the attorney general cannot represent it. The attorney general cannot accept the dictatorship of a company without taking advice from the Government of India. A solicitor general assists the attorney general of India. Other solicitor generals can also be a part of your consultation. The attorney general is needed only when matters of legal importance arise. He will appear only after he has consulted the ministry of law.

Tenure of an Attorney general

The attorney general is not a neutral person as he is selected by the government and acts as its advocate throughout his tenure of work. Although he is a constitutional authority, his opinions are a matter of public importance. However, there are occasions when an attorney general’s opinion is highly politicised. An attorney general resigns when the tenure of the existing government ends.

Who is a solicitor general?

A solicitor general is the second law officer of the country and works under the Attorney General of India. This is the main difference between attorney general and solicitor general. The solicitor general appears on behalf of the Indian Government. However, the post of a solicitor general is statutory. The appointment committee of the cabinet recommends him. The department of legal affairs receives a note regarding the appointment of a joint secretary; he is then appointed after the approval of the minister of law is obtained.

Hence the main difference between attorney general and solicitor general is that solicitor general is the subordinate of attorney general.

Some of the prime duties of a solicitor general include

•  Advising the government only gill matters and to perform tasks that the government of India will assign
•  to appear in the proceedings of a supreme court or High court whenever required on behalf of the Government of India.
• To fulfil the duties given to a law officer by the constitution or any other law.
• He also represents the comment of India in any reference that the prime minister makes as per article 143 of the Indian constitution.

There is no difference between attorney general and solicitor general in terms of responsibility except that one is subordinate to the other.

Conclusion

So we understood who is the attorney general of India! He is appointed by the President of India and remains in office as long as the President wants him to. The Attorney-general is the chief legal advisor of India and is assisted by the solicitor general. The attorney general supervises only the critical decisions for the government after taking advice from the law ministry.

He is the highest law officer in India and gets a salary equivalent to that of a Supreme court judge. The attorney general is also free to continue his private practices as he is not a government servant.