Senior advocate R. Venkataramani has been appointed as the new Attorney General (AG) of India by President Droupadi Murmu for a period of three years, the Law Ministry announced on Wednesday. Mr. Venkataramani will succeed K. K. Venugopal, whose term comes to end on September 30.

Venugopal, 91, was appointed to the post in July 2017. He was reappointed as the top law officer of the country for three months on June 29.

Former Law Commission member, Mr Venkataramani has over 4 decades of legal practice. He was most recently in the news after being appointed the receiver and amicus for the homebuyers in the Amrapali housing case in the Supreme Court. Venkataramani enrolled in the Bar in July 1977 with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and joined the chambers of P P Rao, senior advocate at THE Supreme Court, in 1979. He then set up an independent practice at the Supreme Court in 1982.

The Attorney General is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and is its principal Advocate before the Supreme Court of India. The appointment is done by the President of India.The Attorney General must be a person qualified to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Hence, they must have been a judge of a high court for five years or an advocate of a high court for ten years, or an eminent jurist in the opinion of the President.

“The President is pleased to F. No. J-11011/1/2022-Judicial: appoint Shri R. Venkataramani, Senior Advocate as Attorney General for India for a period of three years from the date he enters upon his office." the official notice read.