Who is considered the highest law officer of the state in India?

Correct — B. The Advocate General is the highest law officer of a state, appointed by the Governor under Article 165.

The office advises the state government on legal matters, performs the duties the Governor assigns, and must be held by someone qualified to be a judge of a High Court.

Article 177 lets the Advocate General speak in and take part in the proceedings of the state legislature, without a vote — the state counterpart of the right Article 88 gives the Attorney General in Parliament. Option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Auditor general — The Comptroller and Auditor General, the paper's 'Auditor general', audits public spending. It is a Union office under Article 148 and gives no legal opinion at all.
• (c)
  Chief justice of high court — The Chief Justice of a High Court heads the state judiciary and decides cases. The Advocate General appears before that court as the government's counsel, which is an adversarial role, not a judicial one.
• (d)
  Attorney general — The Attorney General is the highest law officer of the Union, appointed by the President under Article 76. The stem asks about the state, and that one word moves the answer.

India runs two parallel sets of law officers. At the Centre the Attorney General under Article 76, assisted by the Solicitor General, appears for the Union. In each state the Advocate General under Article 165 does that work for the state government.

Both hold office during pleasure — the Attorney General at the President's, the Advocate General at the Governor's — so neither has a fixed tenure written into the Constitution.

The audit line is separate. The Comptroller and Auditor General under Article 148 checks how public money was spent and is not a law officer.

Key facts

• Article 165 provides for an Advocate General for each state, appointed by the Governor.
• The Advocate General must be qualified to be appointed a judge of a High Court.
• Article 177 gives the Advocate General the right to speak in either House of the state legislature but not to vote.
• Article 76 provides for the Attorney General of India, the Union's first law officer, appointed by the President.

Common traps

• Attorney General is the Union's law officer, so the word 'state' in the stem is the whole question.
• The Comptroller and Auditor General audits accounts and never advises on law.
• The Advocate General may speak in the state legislature but never votes there.

No directly related past PYQ was found.