Attorney General of India

The Attorney General for India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. The Attorney General for India is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution of India 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. The Attorney General is responsible for giving advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters and to perform such other duties of legal character as may be referred or 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. 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/She also 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 General. The Attorney General is to be consulted only in legal matters of real importance and only after the Ministry of Law has been consulted. All references to the Attorney General are made by the Ministry of Law. The Attorney General can accept briefs but cannot appear against the Government. He/She cannot defend an accused in the criminal proceedings and 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. The current Attorney General is G E Vahanvati, who was appointed by the Congress-led government after the 2009 General Elections.

The Attorney General of India, 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, in India, all the law officers resign, and law officers loyal to the new party are appointed.

Attorney-General for India (1) The President shall appoint a person who is qualified to be appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court to be Attorney-General for India. (2) It shall be the duty of the Attorney-General to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time be referred or assigned to him by the President, and to discharge the functions conferred on him by or under this Constitution or any other law for the time being in force. (3) In the performance of his duties the Attorney-General shall have right of audience in all courts in the territory of India. (4) The Attorney-General shall hold office during the pleasure of the President, and shall receive such remuneration as the President may determine.

List of Attorney General of India:-

Attorney General	Term
M. C. Setalvad	28.01.1950 - 01.03.1963
C.K.Daphtary	02.03.1963 - 30.10.1968
Niren De	01.11.1968 - 31.03.1977
S.V. Gupte	01.04.1977 - 08.08.1979
L.N. Sinha	09.08.1979 - 08.08.1983
K. Parasaran	09.08.1983 - 08.12.1989
Soli Sorabjee	09.12.1989 - 02.12.1990
G. Ramaswamy	03.12.1990 - 23.11.1992
Milon K. Banerji	21.11.1992 - 08.07.1996
Ashok Desai	09.07.1996 - 06.04.1998
Soli Sorabjee	07.04.1998 - 04.06.2004
Milon K. Banerji	05.06.2004 - 07.06.2009
Goolam Essaji Vahanvati	08.06.2009 - incumbent

Difference between Attorney General & Solicitor General :

• Solicitor General is subordinate to the Attorney General of India and works under him.
• The Solicitor General for India is the second law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General
• Unlike the post of Attorney General of India, which is a Constitutional post under Article 76 of the Constitution of India, the posts of the Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitors General are merely statutory.