What Are The Duties Of Attorney General?

The attorney general is the leading legal advisor of the country in all matters involving the government. The President appoints him after taking advice from the union cabinet. There are  a set of duties that the attorney general of India must fulfill on behalf of the government throughout their tenure. Specific qualifications are also required to become the attorney general of India and meet the criteria to gain the post. The attorney general article in the Indian constitution is Article 76.

Appointment of the Attorney general of India

The president of India appoints the attorney general. The President takes advice from the cabinet of ministers for the same. Specific requirements that the person must fulfil to be set as the attorney general are:

• He must be an Indian citizen
• He must have the qualifications required to be a judge in the supreme court.
• He must have been a judge of the high court for a duration of 5 years.
• He can also be an advocate in the high court for a tenure of 10 years.
• He can also be an eminent jurist for the president

Duties of the attorney general 

Being the supreme legal advisor, the attorney general has the following set of duties. 

• He offers advice to the government of India on all legal matters. These matters will be forwarded to him by the President of India.
• He will fulfil the duties of legal character that the president of India will assign him.
• Any other duties that will be conferred to him by the Constitution of India.
• He will have to appear in the Supreme court proceedings on matters concerning or involving the Indian government.
• He will represent the government at the court at any point of reference.
• He will also have to appear before the High Court where a case regarding the Indian government is concerned.

Special rights enjoyed by the attorney general of India?

The attorney general of India enjoys all the immunity and privileges that are available to an MP. He also enjoys the rights of the audience in any court of India where his duties are concerned, or the matter involves the involvement of the Government of India. An Attorney general can also participate in the presiding of the Lok Sabha and Rajya sabha; however, he will not be entitled to the right to vote there but can be designated as a member.

Subordinate of Attorney general

The second supreme Power of the country, the solicitor general, also enjoys supreme powers, and he needs to have the same qualification as the attorney general of India. She will have to look up the matters in the court where the Government of India is concerned. He also has the same duty that an attorney general has; the only difference is that the attorney general is the supreme authority, and the solicited general comes after him.

Conclusion

The supreme legal advisor of the country, an attorney general, has some duties that he needs to fulfil towards the government of India and the nation. The most important one is to represent the government on its behalf on any legal matter concerning them. He can also be a part of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha parliamentary proceedings.

He enjoys supreme powers and receives a salary equivalent to the judges of a supreme court. Hence, we can say that the existence of an attorney general article in the constitution is necessary if we want a smooth functioning of our judicial system. 

The attorney general works in unison with the solicitor general of India. Both of them have a duty to protect the country’s law and help in legal matters.