Constitutional expert K K Venugopal, 86, has called speculation that he could be the next attorney general “premature” even as sources indicate that his name was in the reckoning. “I came to know that two to three names are being considered. and Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) will take a call once he is back from his official tour,’’ Venugopal told The Indian Express. He answered in the negative when asked if the government was in touch with him and declined to comment whether he had conveyed his assent.The Union cabinet’s appointments committee had given extension to attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, whose tenure ended on June 6. But he had expressed his desire to return to legal practice. Venugopal, who is from Kerala’s Kasargode district, started his legal career in 1954 in Mysore before practising at the Madras High Court under his father, late barrister M K Nambiar. He shifted to Delhi when he was appointed additional solicitor general after the Emergency in the 1970s. Venugopal, who was designated a senior advocate in 1972, has made his mark in several important cases, including the one pertaining to the Mandal Commission matter. He has appeared for BJP leader L K Advani in the Babri Masjid demolition case. Venugopal represented A B Vajpayee and Advani when they were arrested upon imposition of the Emergency.
