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UPSC Prelims 2022 · Polity · Constitutional Bodies & Governance
Consider the following statements:
- Attorney General of India and Solicitor General of India are the only officers of the Government who are allowed to participate in the meetings of the Parliament of India.
- According to the Constitution of India, the Attorney General of India submits his resignation when the Government which appointed him resigns.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Art. 88 names Ministers and the AG (not the SG); Art. 76 sets no link to the Government’s term.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG Art. 88 gives the right to speak in either House (without a vote) to every Minister and the Attorney General. The Solicitor General has no such constitutional right.
2. ✗ WRONG The AG holds office during the pleasure of the President (Art. 76(4)). Resigning with the Government is a convention, not a constitutional rule.
The idea
Attorney General (Art. 76): qualified to be a SC judge · no fixed term · not a full-time counsel or a government servant · can take private practice (not against the Government) · right of audience in all courts · speaks in Parliament but cannot vote (Art. 88).
Why the others are wrong
(a) Ministers also take part, and the SG has no constitutional right to.
(b) The Constitution says “pleasure of the President”; resignation with the Government is only a convention.
(c) Both are wrong.
The trap
The SG is the AG’s deputy in court, which makes statement 1 sound complete. The SG is a statutory post with no role in Parliament.
🔒 AG = Art. 76 · President’s pleasure · Art. 88: Ministers + AG speak in either House, no vote · SG = statutory, no Parliament role.
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