K K Venugopal to take charge as New Attorney General

Senior advocate K K Venugopal will take charge as the Attorney General of India after Mukul Rohatogi decided to step down from the post. The 86-year-old veteran had served as the Additional Solicitor General when Morarji Desai assumed Prime Ministership in 1976. 

He is a prominent lawyer at the Supreme Court and was the amicus curiae in the 2G spectrum scam case. He had also handled Ayodhya dispute,  Mandal case, judicial appointment issues and Presidential reference regarding the appointment of Judges.

The proposal to appoint him as the successor of Rohatgi was discussed before the departure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his recent visit to the US, Portugal and the Netherlands. "Venugopal had a meeting with Modi before his departure to a three-nation tour," sources said.

When contacted on Friday and asked about his priorities as the Attorney General, Venugopal said "I will speak only after the notification is issued." The notification is likely to be issued in a day or two.

The law ministry had recently referred the file relating to the appointment of Venugopal as the Attorney General to the Prime Minister's Office for a final call, sources had said.

After the decision is finalised, the President has to sign the Warrant of Appointment of the Attorney General.

A noted constitutional expert, Venugopal is the recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan. 

He has been associated with several government instrumentalities and has been representing them as a senior advocate. Lately, he has been appearing for the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate before the Supreme Court in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

The apex court had asked him to continue in the matter despite Venugopal's replacement by the Enforcement Directorate after he had taken a view different from the agency and the government on the removal of an investigation officer.

He also represented the Madhya Pradesh Government during the hearing of National Judicial Appointments Commission Act in which he supported the validity of the central law to do away with the collegium system of appointment of judges for the higher judiciary.

However, his association with the BJP regime goes back to the Ayodhya movement when he had appeared for the then Kalyan Singh Government in Uttar Pradesh by assuring the Supreme Court that the disputed medieval structure would be protected.

Later, when on 6 December 1992, the structure was brought down by the kar sevaks, he had appeared before a bench of then Chief Justice MN Venkatachaliah at his residence in the evening.

Venugopal had recently appeared for senior BJP leader LK Advani and others before the apex court which restored the charge of criminal conspiracy against them and ordered the completion of the trial in the Babri Masjid demolition case, in two years.

He had also appeared for PJ Thomas when his appointment as the Chief Vigilance Commissioner by the erstwhile UPA government was challenged in the apex court which had set aside the government's decision.

He also appeared for Dandi Swamy Sri Vidyanada Bhartiji and J Jayalalithaa, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, in 2008 in the Sethusamudram case, popularly known as Ram Sethu matter, against the construction of the ambitious shipping canal project of the previous UPA government.

The Supreme Court had stayed the construction of the controversial Ram Sethu or Adams Bridge project, a barrier located south-east of Rameshwaram, which connects Talaimanar coast of Sri Lanka.

(With inputs from PTI)

• K K Venugopal
• New Attorney General