Advocate General of the State

Advocate General of the State

Subject – Polity

Context – Deol’s appointment as Punjab Advocate General has raised eyebrows

Concept –

• The Constitution (Article 165) has provided for the office of the advocate general for the states. He is the highest law officer in the state. Thus he corresponds to the Attorney General of India.
• The advocate general is appointed by the governor. He must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of a high court.
  • In other words, he must be a citizen of India and must have held a judicial office for ten years or been an advocate of a high court for ten years.
• The term of office of the advocate general is not fixed by the Constitution.
• Further, the Constitution does not contain the procedure and grounds for his removal. He holds office during the pleasure of the governor.
  • This means that he may be removed by the governor at any time. He may also quit his office by submitting his resignation to the governor.
  • Conventionally, he resigns when the government (council of ministers) resigns or is replaced, as he is appointed on its advice.
• The remuneration of the advocate general is not fixed by the Constitution. He receives such remuneration as the governor may determine.

Duties and Functions

As the chief law officer of the government in the state, the duties of the advocate general include the following:

1. To give advice to the government of the state upon such legal matters which are referred to him by the governor.
2. To perform such other duties of a legal character that is assigned to him by the governor.
3. To discharge the functions conferred on him by the Constitution or any other law.

In the performance of his official duties, the advocate general is entitled to appear before any court of law within the state. Further, he has the right to speak and to take part in the proceedings of both the Houses of the state legislature or any committee of the state legislature of which he may be named a member, but without a right to vote. He enjoys all the privileges and immunities that are available to a member of the state legislature.