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Question 26 of 60 · Constitutional & Statutory Bodies
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The first Attorney General of India was:

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Answer: Option A — M.C. Setalvad

Detailed Solution

Setalvad. Motilal Chimanlal Setalvad was the first Attorney General of India. He held the office from January 1950 to March 1963, which is the longest tenure of any Attorney General.

About M.C. Setalvad:

  • He was born in 1884 in Ahmedabad.
  • He was a leading lawyer of the Bombay High Court and had served as Advocate General of Bombay.
  • He was the first Chairman of the Law Commission of India after independence, which produced several important reports.
  • He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1957.

The office of Attorney General:

  • Article 76 provides for the office of the Attorney General for India.
  • He is the highest law officer of the Government of India.
  • He is appointed by the President.
  • He must be qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.
  • He holds office during the pleasure of the President, and no fixed term is laid down in the Constitution.
  • His remuneration is decided by the President.

Duties:

  • To give advice to the Government of India on legal matters referred to him.
  • To perform other legal duties assigned by the President.
  • To appear on behalf of the Government of India in the Supreme Court and in High Courts in cases in which the government is concerned.
  • To represent the government in references made by the President under Article 143.

Rights:

  • He has the right of audience in all courts in India.
  • Under Article 88, he has the right to speak and take part in the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament and their committees, but he cannot vote.
  • He enjoys the privileges and immunities of a member of Parliament.

Assisting officers:

The Solicitor General and Additional Solicitors General assist the Attorney General.

Why not the other options?

Soli Sorabjee, K.K. Venugopal and Mukul Rohatgi held the office in more recent decades.

Quick tip

Remember: First Attorney General = M.C. Setalvad (1950 to 1963); office under Article 76; right to speak in Parliament under Article 88.

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Constitutional & Statutory Bodies — Preparation

This question tests your understanding of Constitutional & Statutory Bodies, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.

This topic covers bodies set up under the Constitution, such as the Election Commission, UPSC, Finance Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and the national commissions for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and statutory or executive bodies such as NITI Aayog, the NHRC, the CVC, the CBI and Lokpal. Questions often ask whether a body is constitutional or not, which article creates it, who appoints its head and for how long. For example, the CAG is appointed under Article 148, the Finance Commission under Article 280, and NITI Aayog replaced the Planning Commission in 2015 by an executive resolution. Practise the constitutional and statutory bodies questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.

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