NDA (II) 2023 General Ability Test · Question 139 of 146

Correct — C, 3. Three of the four statements hold and the fourth is the planted error. The Attorney-General is the chief legal adviser of the Government of India and is described in every standard account as its first law officer, so statement 1 is right. Articles 76 and 88 together give the office the right of audience in all courts in India and the right to take part in the proceedings of either House of Parliament, its joint sittings and any committee of which the holder is named a member, but expressly no right to vote — statement 2 is right. Article 76(1) provides that the President makes the appointment, so statement 3 is right. Statement 4 is where the item breaks. The Attorney-General is not a whole-time counsel of the Government: the holder is not a government servant and is not debarred from private legal practice, although the office may not advise or appear against the Government of India, may not defend an accused in criminal proceedings without permission, and may not take a company directorship without the Government's consent. Three correct statements gives the count of 3.

• (a)1 — This would leave only one statement standing out of four, which is far too harsh. The appointment by the President and the right to speak without voting are both written into Articles 76 and 88 and neither can be discarded.
• (b)2 — Reaching two usually means also rejecting the first law officer description, on the ground that the Constitution does not use that phrase. The Constitution does not, but the office is the Government's chief legal adviser and the description is the accepted one; the actual error is in statement 4.
• (d)4 — This accepts statement 4, which is the trap. A whole-time counsel would be a full-time employee of the Government; the Attorney-General is not a government servant and retains private practice, which is precisely why the office is not treated as a salaried post in the ordinary sense.

Article 76 creates the Attorney-General for India — appointed by the President, qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court, holding office during the President's pleasure and receiving such remuneration as the President determines. The duties are to advise the Government of India on legal matters referred by the President and to perform such other legal duties as are assigned. Article 88 adds the parliamentary rights: the Attorney-General may speak in and take part in the proceedings of either House, of a joint sitting and of any committee of which he or she is a named member, but may not vote.

The question is testing whether a candidate can tell a constitutional provision from a common assumption. Statements 1, 2 and 3 are the textbook trio, and any student of polity will accept them. Statement 4 is designed to sound like a compliment to the office — of course the Government's top lawyer works for the Government full time. The Constitution takes the opposite view deliberately. Keeping the Attorney-General outside government service, free to practise privately, preserves the independence of the advice, which is also why the office is filled by a leader of the Bar rather than by a career official. The corollary worth remembering is the Solicitor-General: the second law officer, who assists the Attorney-General and is himself assisted by Additional Solicitors-General, but whose post is not created by the Constitution at all.

• The Attorney-General is appointed by the President under Article 76(1) and must be qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
• Articles 76 and 88 give the right of audience in all courts in India and the right to take part in the proceedings of Parliament, though not the right to vote.
• The Attorney-General is not a government servant and is not debarred from private legal practice.
• The office may not advise or hold a brief against the Government of India, may not defend an accused in criminal proceedings without permission, and may not take a company directorship without the Government's consent.

• Believing the Attorney-General is a full-time government counsel; the office keeps its private practice.
• Extending the right to speak in Parliament into a right to vote, which Article 88 excludes.
• Treating the Solicitor-General as a constitutional office; only the Attorney-General is.

Asked in the count format across four short statements, three from the constitutional text and one from a plausible-sounding assumption about the office.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which one of the following statements about the Attorney-General for India is correct ?

  • (a)He is a whole-time salaried servant of the Government of India
  • (b)He may take part in the proceedings of either House of Parliament but may not vote
  • (c)He must be a member of either House of Parliament
  • (d)He can be removed only by impeachment by Parliament

  Answer(b) He may take part in the proceedings of either House of Parliament but may not vote — the right conferred by Article 88.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The office of the Solicitor-General of India

  • (a)is created by Article 76 of the Constitution
  • (b)is not a constitutional office; only the Attorney-General's is
  • (c)is filled by election in the Rajya Sabha
  • (d)carries the right to vote in Parliament

  Answer(b) is not a constitutional office; only the Attorney-General's is — the Solicitor-General assists the Attorney-General as second law officer.