Senior advocate R Venkataramani is new Attorney General of India

Venkataramani's appointment comes after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi last Sunday declined the central government's offer to be the next AG.

New Delhi:Senior advocate R Venkataramani has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India. "The President is pleased to appoint Shri R Venkataramani, Senior Advocate as Attorney General of India for a period of three years from the date he enters upon his office," read the notification from the Department of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday.

Venkataramani's appointment comes after senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi last Sunday declined the central government's offer to be the next AG. The Centre had offered the post of AG to Rohatgi earlier this month to succeed K K Venugopal, 91, whose term will end on September 30. Rohatgi was the AG from June 2014 to June 2017. He was succeeded by Venugopal, who was appointed to the post in July 2017. The AG usually has a tenure of three years.

Born in Pondicherry on April 13, 1950, Venakataramani enrolled as a lawyer in July 1977 with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu. He started practising in the Supreme Court in 1979 with the apex court designating him as Senior Advocate in 1997. For the last 12 years, he has been appearing for the state of Tamil Nadu as a Special Senior Counsel for the past 12 years. Venkataramani also served as a member of the Law Commission of India in 2010 and 2013.