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Mukul Rohatgi says no to Modi govt's offer to return as attorney general
Earlier reports had suggested that Mukul Rohatagi would take over the AG's role from October 1. Rohatgi was the country's attorney general from June 2014 to June 2017.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi has withdrawn his consent to take over as the attorney general of India. Earlier reports had suggested that he would take over the AG's role from October 1. Rohatgi was the country's attorney general from June 2014 to June 2017.
The government would not have to look for a new AG or elevate one of its law officers.
News agency ANI quoted Rohatgi as saying that there is no particular reason, but he thought about the offer again and decided to decline the same.
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. Venugopal was appointed as attorney general in July 2017, succeeding Rohatgi.
The attorney general usually has a tenure of three years.
Rohatgi, a veteran lawyer, has appeared in several high profile cases in the apex court as well as high courts across the country.
He appeared for the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the apex court, which had heard a plea by Zakia Jafri pertaining to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
He had also appeared for Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan when he was arrested in the drugs-on-cruise case by the Narcotics Bureau of India
