Solicitor General of India

• Vaid's ICS, Lucknow
• 08, Jul 2021

Why in news?

A delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs recently met President Ram Nath Kovind and sought the removal of Tushar Mehta as the Solicitor General of India, on the grounds of “criminal misconduct” and “gross impropriety” following his meeting with BJP MLA Suvendu Adhikari.

What’s the issue?

Suvendu Adhikari is an accused in the 2016 Narada tapes case, and Mr. Mehta is representing the CBI in the Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court in the agency’s probe against senior TMC leaders in the matter.

• Experts say such a meeting, between one of the highest serving law officers of India, the Solicitor General, who is also appointed as the Special Public Prosecutor for the CBI and an accused person being investigated by the same agency, raises extremely serious doubts of impropriety.
• Also, Such meetings make a mockery of the criminal justice system and would only serve to destroy the common man’s faith in the judiciary.

Solicitor General- Key facts:

1. Solicitor General is the second highest law officer in the country.
2. He is subordinate to the Attorney General of India, the highest law officer and works under him.
3. He also advises the government in legal matters.
4. Solicitor general is appointed for period of three years by Appointment Committee of Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister.

Duties:

1. To give advice to the Government of India upon such legal matters, and to perform such other duties of a legal character, as may from time to time, be referred or assigned to him by the Government of India.
2. To appear, whenever required, in the Supreme Court or in any High Court on behalf of the Government of India in cases (including suits, writ petitions, appeal and other proceedings) in which the Government of India is concerned as a party or is otherwise interested.
3. To represent the Government of India in any reference made by the President to the Supreme Court under Article 143 of the Constitution.

FACTS FOR PRELIMS

Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC):

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has initiated a project on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

• The task has been assigned to Quality Council of India (QCI).
• ONDC aims at promoting open networks developed on open sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform.
• ONDC is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.