Attorney General of India

Status:
• Highest legal officer of the Union Govt.
• Appointed by the President.
• The person should be qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
• He is entitled to audience in all courts of the country & can take part in the proceedings of the Parliament & its committees. However, he is not given the right to vote.
• He is also allowed to take up private practice provided the other party is not the State. Because of this, he is not paid salary but a retainer to be determined by the President.
• In England, the Attorney General is a member of the Cabinet, but in India he is not. It is a political appointment and therefore, whenever there is a change in the party in power, the Attorney General resigns from his post to enable the new Government to appoint a nominee of his choice.
• The Attorney General is assisted by two Solicitors-General and four Additional Solicitors - General.
• The Attorney General gets a retainer equivalent to the salary of a judge of the Supreme Court.
• Gives advice on all such legal matters which may be referred or assigned to him by the President.
• Appears before the Supreme Court and various High Courts in cases involving the govt. of India.