Additional Solicitor General of India
Additional Solicitor General of India abbreviated as ASG is a law officer of India and is the third ranking lawyer of the Government of India.[1] The headquarters of Additional Solicitor-General may be at New Delhi or Mumbai or Chennai or Allahabad as the Government of India may specify from time to time. ASG is governed by Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987.[2]
Current Additional Solicitors General
The current Additional Solicitors General as of 9 April 2015 are as follows:[3]
| Additional Solicitors General of India | Term |
|---|---|
| L Nageswara Rao | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| Maninder Singh | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| Paramjit Singh Patwalia | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| Tushar Mehta | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| Neeraj Kishan Kaul | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| P.S. Narsimha | 7 June 2014 – 6 June 2017 (incumbent) |
| Pinky Anand | 9 July 2014 – 8 July 2017 (incumbent) |
| Anil C Singh | 9 July 2014 – 8 July 2017 (incumbent) |
| Sanjay Jain | 23 July 2014 – 22 July 2017 (incumbent) |
| G.Rajagopalan | 28 July 2014 – 27 July 2017 (incumbent) |
| Rajdeepak Rastogi | 28 July 2014 – 27 July 2017 (incumbent) |
| Satya Pal Jain | 8 April 2015 – 7 April 2018 (incumbent) |
| Satyadarshi Sanjay | 8 April 2015 – 7 April 2018 (incumbent) |
Duties
Duties of Solicitor General of India and other law officers are laid out in Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987:[2]
- to give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time, be referred or assigned to him by the Government of India.
- to appear, whenever required, in the Supreme Court or in any High Court on behalf of the Government of India in cases (including suits, writ petitions, appeal and other proceedings) in which the Government of India is concerned as a party or is otherwise interested;
- to represent the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution; and
- to discharge such other functions as are conferred on a Law Officer by or under the Constitution or any other Law for the time being in force.
Restrictions of private practice
As law officers represent government of India, there are certain restrictions which are put on their private practice. A law officer is not allowed to:
- hold briefs in any court for any party except the Government of India or the government of a State or any University, Government School or College, local authority, Public Service Commission, Port Trust, Port Commissioners, Government aided or Government managed hospitals, a Government company, any Corporation owned or controlled by the State, any body or institution in which the Government has a preponderating interest;
- advice any party against the Government of India or a Public Sector Undertaking, or in cases in which he is likely to be called upon to advise, or appear for, the Government of India or a Public Sector Undertaking;
- defend an accused person in a criminal prosecution, without the permission of the Government of India; or
- accept appointment to any office in any company or corporation without the permission of the Government of India;
- advise any Ministry or Department of Government of India or any statutory organization or any Public Sector Undertaking unless the proposal or a reference in this regard is received through the Ministry of Law and Justice, Department of Legal Affairs.[2]
References
- ↑ "Constitution". Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Law Officers (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1987" (PDF). Gazzette of India. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
- ↑ "List of Law Officers (As on 9.4.2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Law and Justice. Retrieved 17 April 2014.