NDA (II) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 87 of 150

Correct — D, the Attorney General of India. Article 88 gives every Minister and the Attorney General the right to speak in, and otherwise take part in the proceedings of, either House, any joint sitting of the two Houses, and any committee of Parliament of which he is named a member. He does not, however, get a vote. The Attorney General is appointed by the President under Article 76, must be qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court, and holds office during the President's pleasure. He is not a member of either House, which is exactly what makes him the answer to a question framed this way.

• (a)The Solicitor General of India — The Solicitor General is the second law officer of the Government and assists the Attorney General, but the post is statutory rather than constitutional and Article 88 names only Ministers and the Attorney General. The Solicitor General has no right to take part in the proceedings of either House.
• (b)The Vice-President of India — The Vice-President is ex officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha and presides over that House without being a member of it, which is why the option is tempting. But his position gives him no entitlement to attend the Lok Sabha, and the question asks for someone who can attend both Houses.
• (c)The Comptroller and Auditor General of India — The Comptroller and Auditor General audits the accounts of the Union and the States and submits his reports to the President or the Governor, who causes them to be laid before the legislature. He deals with Parliament through those reports and through the Public Accounts Committee, not by attending sittings, and he has no right of audience in either House.

The Attorney General is the first law officer of the Government of India, holding a constitutional office under Article 76. He advises the Government on legal matters referred to him by the President, performs the legal duties assigned to him, and has a right of audience in all courts in India. Article 88 extends that voice into Parliament, letting him speak in either House and in parliamentary committees of which he is a member, but the right to vote is withheld — participation without membership.

Two clarifications keep this area straight. First, the Attorney General is not a whole-time government servant and is not barred from private legal practice, though he cannot advise or hold a brief against the Government of India. Second, the Constitution does not tie his tenure to the life of the government that appointed him; he holds office during the President's pleasure, and the convention of resigning with a change of government is exactly that, a convention. The Solicitor General and the Additional Solicitors General are statutory law officers who assist him.

• Article 76 provides for the Attorney General, appointed by the President from persons qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court.
• Article 88 gives Ministers and the Attorney General the right to speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House, a joint sitting and any committee of which they are named members, but not to vote.
• The Attorney General is not a whole-time counsel for the Government and may take private practice, subject to restrictions.
• The Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General are statutory posts, not constitutional ones.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General is appointed under Article 148 and can be removed only in the manner provided for a judge of the Supreme Court.

• Adding the Solicitor General to Article 88; only Ministers and the Attorney General are named there.
• Choosing the Vice-President because he presides over the Rajya Sabha without being a member — that covers one House, not both.
• Assuming the right to speak carries a right to vote; it does not.

NDA sets this both as a who-can-do-this item and as a set of statements about the Attorney General, where the whole-time-counsel claim and the right-of-audience claim are the usual traps.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Attorney General of India is appointed under which Article of the Constitution?

  • (a)Article 72
  • (b)Article 76
  • (c)Article 148
  • (d)Article 324

  Answer(b) Article 76 — Article 148 is the Comptroller and Auditor General and Article 324 the Election Commission.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  While taking part in the proceedings of a House of Parliament, the Attorney General of India

  • (a)can speak and vote
  • (b)can speak but cannot vote
  • (c)can vote but cannot speak
  • (d)can neither speak nor vote

  Answer(b) can speak but cannot vote — Article 88 gives him a voice, not a ballot.