Newsmaker: Mukul Rohatgi

The counsel of defendants

Those who have watched Mukul Rohatgi, the new Attorney General, argue before the Supreme Court judges in the past decade would be struck by his unique, forceful presentation of facts, accompanied by gestures that belong to ersatz lawyers in popular films. This six-footer would often enliven the courtroom by spreading his arms wide, swinging his massive body and modulating his voice as he presented his case in a way that words alone couldn't.

His multi-faceted skill has brought plenty of reward for his clients, who comprise the rich and the famous, in terms of interim orders and admission of appeal cases. This matchless talent also makes this 59-year-old run from one court room to another, ploughing through the crowded corridors, as he has to appear in dozens of cases on an 'admission day' in the court.

This dexterity in law and advocacy bordering on theatrics might have come to him from his family. His father, Awadh Behari Rohatgi, was a renowned judge of the Delhi High Court. After graduating in law from Bombay University, Mukul started his career with the chambers of Y K Sabharwal, who later became the 36th Chief Justice of India,

A constitutional post is not new to him. In the earlier National Democratic Alliance regime, he was an additional solicitor general. In the second United Progressive Alliance regime, he became the darling of corporate bigwigs like the Ambanis. In public interest cases, he was mostly on the side of the 'defendants', accused of getting coal and spectrum licences illegally.

On several occasions, Rohatgi has found himself in a political thicket as well. He represented Narendra Modi and his government in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases. These included the fake encounter deaths and the Best Bakery case in which Zahira Sheikh alleged that she witnessed her family burn to death. Defending such complex cases added stature to his name and he became an obvious choice for the post of the 14th Attorney General.

The new post will demand the release of all his legal and manoeuvring skills. The tectonic change in the political regime might require shift in the stand of the government on several ticklish issues. The cases built up by the UPA government have to be reworked again, avoiding goof-ups. If the new government takes a different stand in sensitive cases like the coal and spectrum scams, it could be embarrassing. In this backdrop, the Attorney General's task in the days to come could be daunting.

Apart from advising the government and representing it in the count, energising the government's legal department would also be on the agenda of the new Attorney General. The Supreme Court has admonished the law wing of the government several times for filing appeals in revenue matters long after the limitation period, leading to heavy losses to the government. Rohatgi would also have to find a way to cut the red tape at the Supreme Court. Former Attorney Generals Soli Sorabjee and Rohatgi's immediate predecessor, Goolam Vahanvati, did try to clean up the system but failed to wake up the slumbering babus. Rohatgi, who is accustomed to the efficient ways of private law firms, might find the sloppy heritage a hindrance in his way. But against all such odds, he has promised to streamline litigation in the Supreme Court and stop inter-ministerial squabbles that waste public money and time. In the next fortnight, when the Supreme Court reopens, he is expected to bring a new wind of change.