Guwahati: Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi turned down the central government’s offer to become India’s next attorney general.
The incumbent KK Venugopal was to be replaced by Rohatgi as India’s fourteenth Attorney General. When asked why he chose not to accept the Centre’s offer, Rohatgi told ANI there was no specific reason and that he “thought about it again” before making his decision.
After holding the position for the first time between June 2014 and June 2017, if Rohatgi had accepted the offer it would have been his second term.
Veteran attorney and current Attorney General KK Venugopal had stated that he would not like to hold the position of top law officer until September 30 due to health issues.
On July 1, 2017, Venugopal succeeded Rohatgi as Attorney General for a three-year tenure. Venugopal is well-known for his expertise in constitutional law. The Union government granted the 91-year-old Venugopal two one-year extensions after his initial three-year term ended, despite his repeated statements that he did not want to stay in the position.
Venugopal’s term was extended by the Center by three additional months in June of this year. He was compelled to continue for three more months by the administration. Finally, he had consented to a three-month delay, to September 30, so that the administration could choose a new candidate.
The position of attorney general was being offered to 67-year-old Rohatgi.
Following the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government in 2014, Rohatgi served as AG for three years, from 2015 to 2017. Rohatgi previously held the position of Additional Solicitor General of India and is currently a senior attorney at the Supreme Court of India.