New Delhi: Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has urged the government to scrap a rule which bars him from giving legal advice to other ministries without routing it through the law ministry.
According to Rule 8(e) of the Law Officers (Condition of Services) Rules, 1972, it is laid down that a law officer shall not advise any ministry or department of Government of India or any statutory organization or any Public Sector Undertaking unless the proposal or a reference is received through the Ministry of Law and Justice.
Rohatgi, speaking to News18 said that the rule in question is also a hindrance for PSU’s approaching the top law officer.
"Yes I did write a letter as reported. Apart from this rule being an impediment to a swift decision making process, Public Sector Units are entitled to approach the law officers directly."
In a letter to Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, copies of which have been forwarded to Finance Minister Arun Jaitely and Nripendra Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Rohatgi said various ministries, departments and even ministers have declined to route their requests for his legal opinion through the Law Ministry due to urgency of the matter.
Rohatgi even quoted the Constitution to justify his demand and stated that this rule which requires law officers to give legal opinion to various central ministries and departments only when the issue is referred to them by the Law Ministry “runs contrary to Article 76 of the Constitution”.
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