The Centre on Monday, 28 June, extended the tenure of KK Venugopal as the Attorney General for India by one more year. He will remain in the post till 30 June 2022.
Venugopal is 89-years-old. Appointed as AG on 1 July 2017 for a three-year term, he took over as the 15th Attorney General of India after former AG Mukul Rohatgi resigned citing personal reasons.
The Attorney General of India is the top legal officer in the country. Mr Venugopal took over the 15th Attorney General for India on 1 July 2017, succeeding senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who held the office from 2014-17.
The 91-year-old Venugopal had requested the Centre to be relieved of his post citing his advancing age. However, the Centre urged him to continue holding the top office, which he will for another year. In 2020, too, his tenure had been extended by one year.
Venugopal is representing the Centre in several key cases, including the dilution of Article 370, the Centre’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the case challenging Section 124A of the penal code. He also defended the government in the Rafale case in 2018 and the constitutional challenge to Aadhaar cards.
He recently defended the Centre in the case that led to the cancellation of Class-12 exams due to the pandemic and the framing of internal assessments for CBSE and ICSE marks for students
Venugopal, born in 1931, has been practising law for 67 years. In 2002, KKV (as he is known in legal circles) was awarded the Padma Bhushan and in 2015, he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian honour in the country.
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