Tushar Mehta appointed as new Solicitor General of India

The Appointments Committee of Union Cabinet has approved appointment Tushar Mehta has been appointed as the new Solicitor General of India. He will replace Ranjit Kumar, who had stepped down sometime back and shall hold office till June 30, 2020. Prior to this appointment he was Additional Solicitor General.

Tushar Mehta

He had started his legal career as advocate in 1987. He was designated as senior advocate by Gujarat High Court in 2007. He was made Gujarat’s Additional Advocate General in 2008 and represented the state government led by the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in many crucial cases. He was appointed as Additional Solicitor General in June 2014.

Solicitor General of India

Solicitor General is the second highest law officer in the country. He is subordinate to the Attorney General of India, the highest law officer and works under him. He also advises the government in legal matters. Solicitor general is appointed for period of three years by Appointment Committee of Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister.
Note:  Office and duties of Attorney General is created by Constitution under Article 76. While, Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor Generals’ office and duties are governed by Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987 and not by Constitution (thus they are statutory  posts and not constitutional). Moreover, attorney generals has  right to participate in the proceedings of Parliament, but cannot vote.  Whereas, Solicitor General and Additional Solicitor Generals’ do not have these rights wrt to participation in parliament.

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2018