About:
- Indian government’s chief legal advisor
- primary lawyer for the government in the Supreme Court of India.
- appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution of India and holds office during the pleasure of the President.
- person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
Roles and Responsibilities:
- responsible for giving advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters
- perform such other duties of legal character as may be referred or assigned to him by the President.
- has the right of audience in all Courts in India as well as the right to participate in the proceedings of the Parliament, though not to vote.
- The Attorney General appears on behalf of Government of India in all cases(including suits, appeals and other proceedings) in the Supreme Court in which Government of India is concerned.
- represents the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution.
- The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and four Additional Solicitors Generals.
- to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted.
- cannot appear against the Government.
- cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings
- cannot accept the directorship of a company without the permission of the Government.
- Unlike the Attorney General of the United States, the Attorney General of India does not have any executive authority, and is not a political appointee; those functions are performed by the Law Minister of India.