The President of India has signed off on the re-appointment Senior Advocate KK Venugopal as Attorney General for India.
KK Venugopal was appointed as the 15th Attorney General for India on July 1, 2017. His term was set to expire on June 30, 2020. The tenure will now run till July 1, 2021 for Senior Advocate KK Venugopal.
Earlier this month, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had confirmed that Venugopal would continue to serve as India’s top Law Officer, although Venugopal had expressed his desire to relinquish the post.
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Attorney General, Venugopal has appeared for the Centre in several prominent cases of Constitutional significance, including the following:
He initially practiced in litigation relating to the grant of motor vehicle permits, inter-state permits and variation of routes. He began appearing in the Supreme Court in the 1960s, when the Advocates Act was enacted. He grew in eminence as a Constitutional Law Expert and was designated Senior Advocate by the Supreme Court in 1972.
- Cases defending the Centre’s policies on Jammu & Kashmir such as the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution and the continuing restrictions on internet speed following the abrogation.
- The Right to Privacy case. After the Court ruled that there was a fundamental right to privacy, Venugopal later hailed the verdict as an extraordinary one.
- The case concerning the decriminalization of homosexuality in India.
- The Aadhaar case. The review pleas against the 2018 judgment are presently pending before the top Court.
- Cases concerning the Central government’s controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which has been in limbo following the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent limited functioning of courts.
