Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi withdraws consent to take over as the Attorney General of India

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi withdraws consent to take over as the Attorney General of India

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi has declined to take over as the Attorney General of India. Earlier reports had suggested that he would take over the Attorney General role from October 1.

With the current incumbent K K Venugopal's tenure set to expire on September 30, Mukul Rohatgi, if appointed, would have been the 16th Attorney General, his second time in the high office.

Rohatgi was the country's Attorney General from June 2014 to June 2017 before KK Venugopal took over.

KK Venugopal, 91, the current Attorney General, was re-appointed as the top law officer of the country for three months on June 29. He had been unwilling to continue in the position due to "personal reasons" but acceded to a request by the government.

The Attorney General usually has a tenure of three years.

Rohatgi, a veteran lawyer, has appeared in several high profile cases in the Supreme Court as well as high courts across the country.