Mukul Rohatgi appointed 14th Attorney General of India

>> Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi will be the new Attorney General (AG) of India following change in government at the Centre.

>> Rohatgi, who will take over from Goolam Essaji Vahanvati as the 14th AG of the country, said, his top priority as Attorney General would be to "streamline litigations in the Supreme Court."

>> Rohatgi, son of former Delhi High Court judge Justice Awadh Behari Rohatgi, has represented Gujarat government in the Supreme Court in the 2002 Gujarat riots and fake encounter death cases, including the Best Bakery and Zahira Sheikh cases.

>> He has also been representing the Italian embassy in the apex court in a case relating to two Italian marines involved in killing two fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012.

>> Besides some of these illustrative high-profile cases handled by him, Rohatgi has been appearing on behalf of big corporates in the 2G scam trial.

Know about Attorney General of India?

1) The Attorney General for India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds office during the pleasure of the President. He must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

2) The Attorney General, like an Advocate General of a State is not supposed to be a political appointee, in spirit, but this is not the case in practice. Every time a party comes to power in the general elections, all the law officers resign and law officers loyal to the new party are appointed.

3) The Attorney General is necessary for giving advice to the Government of India in legal matters referred to him. He also performs other legal duties assigned to him by the President. The Attorney General 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.

4) 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. He also represents the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution.

5) The Attorney General is assisted by a Solicitor General and four Additional Solicitors General.