New Delhi: The Centre on Saturday issued a notification appointing veteran lawyer KK Venugopal as Attorney General of India for three years, succeeding Mukul Rohatgi who had stepped down after his first term citing personal reasons.
Government sources said Venugopal took charge as the new A-G on Saturday. CNN-News18 had earlier reported that Venugopal was the frontrunner for the post and that the President had approved his appointment on June 30.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly favoured 86-year-old Venugopal as the government's top law officer owing to his vast experience and expertise in constitutional law. After returning from a three-nation tour this week, Modi had approved Venugopal’s name for the post. Other names in the fray included senior lawyer Harish Salve and current Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar.
Venugopal held the office of Additional Solicitor General in the Morarji Desai government. He has appeared in several cases in the last 50 years. Venugopal was appointed as amicus curiae to assist the Supreme Court in 2G spectrum scam case.
He also appeared for BJP leader LK Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case in which the apex court recently clubbed the two trials and held that BJP leaders, including Advani, Uma Bharti and Murli Manohar Joshi, will have to face trial along with karsevaks for demolition of the disputed structure.
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