Which one of the following statements about the Attorney-General of India is NOT correct?

Q: What is the answer to CAPF 2020 Paper I Q73?

B. Correct — B, He/she enjoys right of audience only in the Supreme Court and High Courts in India. Article 76(3) is explicit that the Attorney-General has the right of audience in all courts in the territory of India, and the word all is the point of the provision. No other advocate holds that right by virtue of office; it exists so that the first law officer can appear for the Union anywhere it is a party, from a district court upwards. The word only in option (b) contradicts the article, and the other three statements reproduce Article 76 accurately.

(a)The person must be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court
(b)He/she enjoys right of audience only in the Supreme Court and High Courts in India
(c)He/she holds office during the pleasure of the President
(d)He/she receives remuneration as determined by the President

Answer

Why

Correct — B, He/she enjoys right of audience only in the Supreme Court and High Courts in India. Article 76(3) is explicit that the Attorney-General has the right of audience in all courts in the territory of India, and the word all is the point of the provision. No other advocate holds that right by virtue of office; it exists so that the first law officer can appear for the Union anywhere it is a party, from a district court upwards. The word only in option (b) contradicts the article, and the other three statements reproduce Article 76 accurately.

Why the others are wrong

(a)The person must be qualified to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court — Correct as stated, under Article 76(1). That means a citizen of India who has been a judge of a High Court for five years or an advocate of a High Court for ten, or is a distinguished jurist in the President's opinion.
(c)He/she holds office during the pleasure of the President — Correct as stated, under Article 76(4). There is no fixed term and no removal procedure laid down, which is why the office is treated as changing with the government even though nothing requires it to.
(d)He/she receives remuneration as determined by the President — Correct as stated, also under Article 76(4). The Constitution fixes no salary for the office and leaves it to the President to determine.

Concept

The Attorney-General is the first law officer of the Government of India, appointed by the President under Article 76 to give advice on legal matters referred to him and to perform such other duties of a legal character as are assigned. Article 88 adds a parliamentary dimension — he may speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House, of a joint sitting, and of any committee of which he is named a member, but he may not vote.

Two boundaries around the office are worth fixing. The first is that the Attorney-General is not a whole-time government servant. He is not barred from private practice, though he may not advise against the Government of India, may not defend an accused in a criminal prosecution without permission, and may not accept a company directorship without permission. The second is the difference from the Solicitor-General and the Additional Solicitors-General, who assist him but hold no constitutional office at all — they are appointed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, and Article 88 does not extend to them. At the State level the corresponding office is the Advocate General under Article 165, appointed by the Governor.

Key facts

Article 76(3) gives the Attorney-General the right of audience in all courts in the territory of India.
He must be qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court, holds office during the pleasure of the President, and is paid what the President determines.
Article 88 lets him speak in either House and in any committee of which he is named a member, without a right to vote.
The Solicitor-General and Additional Solicitors-General are statutory and executive appointments, not constitutional offices, and do not enjoy the Article 88 right.
The State counterpart is the Advocate General, appointed by the Governor under Article 165.

Article 76 clause by clause, against the four options

Article 76(1)→Appointed by the President; must be qualified to be a Supreme Court judge — option (a).

Article 76(3)→Right of audience in all courts in the territory of India — which is what option (b) denies.

Article 76(4)→Holds office during the pleasure of the President and receives such remuneration as the President determines — options (c) and (d).

Article 88→May speak and take part in either House and its committees, but may not vote.

Each true option maps to a clause; the false one turns an unrestricted right into a restricted one by inserting the word only.

Study next

Article 76 and Article 88 read together as the whole of the officeThe Solicitor-General and Additional Solicitors-General and how they are appointedThe Advocate General of a State under Article 165The Comptroller and Auditor General as the other constitutional officer often paired with thesePublic interest litigation and the role of the law officers in it

Common traps

Missing a single restrictive word such as only, which is where NOT items are usually decided.
Assuming the Solicitor-General shares the Attorney-General's parliamentary rights.
Treating the Attorney-General as a full-time government servant barred from all private practice.

Constitutional-office items are almost always drawn straight from the article. Read each option as a claim about a clause and check the clause, not the impression.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2022_GS1_Q172022Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements: 1. Attorney General of India and Solicitor General of India are the only officers of the Government who are allowed to participate in the meetings of the Parliament of India. 2. According to the Constitution of India, the Attorney General of India submits his resignation when the Government which appointed him resigns. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Two more overstatements about the same office, both rejected. The Solicitor-General does not share the parliamentary right, and nothing in the Constitution ties the Attorney-General's resignation to the government's — he simply holds office during the President's pleasure, which is option (c) here.

NDA_GAT_2023_II_Q1392023Open & attempt →

Consider the following statements about Attorney-General in India : 1. She/he is the first law officer of the Government of India 2. She/he has a right to speak in any House of Parliament without any right to vote 3. She/he is appointed by the President of India 4. She/he is a whole-time counsel for the Government in the court of law How many of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1
(b) 2
(c) 3
(d) 4

Answer(c) 3

The same office with the whole-time claim added as the fourth statement, and rejected. Three of its four propositions hold, and the one that fails is the assumption that the Attorney-General works for the government alone.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The Attorney-General of India is appointed by
- (a)the Chief Justice of India
- (b)the President of India
- (c)the Prime Minister
- (d)the Parliament
Answer(b) the President of India — under Article 76(1), and he holds office during the President's pleasure.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following can the Attorney-General of India NOT do?
- (a)Speak in the Lok Sabha
- (b)Vote in the Rajya Sabha
- (c)Take part in the proceedings of a parliamentary committee of which he is a member
- (d)Appear before a district court
Answer(b) Vote in the Rajya Sabha — Article 88 gives him a right to speak and participate but expressly no right to vote.