Mukul Rohatgi is an Indian lawyer and Senior Counsel at the Supreme Court of India, who was the 14th Attorney General of India from 2014-2017, appointed by the then ruling NDA government. He was succeeded by K. K. Venugopal. Before becoming the AGI, Rohatgi, one of the country’s top 10 most influential and most expensive lawyers, served as the Additional Solicitor General of India for five years under the former NDA government.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Mukul Rohatgi was born on Wednesday, 17 August 1955 (age 67 years; as of 2022) in Delhi. His zodiac sign is Leo. The Delhi-based advocate completed his graduation in Commerce (Honors) at Delhi University in 1975 and went on to obtain his LLB degree from the Government Law College, Bombay University in 1978. He received a Doctorate in Laws from the Fakir Mohan University, Odisha, in 2011, and he was also conferred Doctor of Laws (LLD) – Honoris Causa by the Amity University, Uttar Pradesh in November 2016. [1]Legal Era
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 6′
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
Mukul hails from a legal lineage, with his father, late Justice Awadh Behari Rohatgi, being the former Delhi High Court judge and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India. He has a sister named Madhulika Singla.
Mukul Rohatgi’s father
Wife & Children
He is married, and his wife, Vasudha Rohatgi, is also a trained advocate; however, she gave up practising law to look after her household. Vasudha is the daughter of Indian senior advocate late G. L. Sanghi. Mukul has two sons, both of whom are advocates and married. His elder son is Nikhil Rohatgi.
Mukul Rohatgi’s sons with his wife Vasudha Rohatgi
Mukul’s younger son, Sameer Rohatgi, is a practising advocate in the Delhi High Court, District Consumer Forums, and Family Courts.
Mukul Rohatgi’s son Sameer with his wife
Address
Mukul Rohatgi can be reached at 59, Sunder Nagar, Delhi, 110003.
Career
Initial Career
Soon after finishing his LLB from Mumbai, Mukul came back to Delhi and started practising law in the chambers of Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal in the Delhi High Court. Sabharwal, later, went on to become the 36th Chief Justice of India. While working there, the budding lawyer handled many cases, some including those of Sabharwal. Eventually, after gaining enough experience, Mukul began his own legal practice. [2]The Economic Times In 1978, he was officially admitted to the Bar Council of Delhi as an advocate, and almost two decades later, in 1994, Mukul was appointed as a Senior Counsel by the Delhi High Court. He went on to hold the position of Additional Solicitor General of India in November 1999, after he was appointed by the then Government of India. His five-year-long stint as the country’s one of the top law officers ended in May 2004 with the change of the government. [3]Legal Era
International Representation
In 2006, Mr Rohatgi was chosen to be part of the Indian delegation by the then Chief Justice of India to present his paper titled “Impact of Environmental Law on Human Rights” at the Indo-British Legal Forum in Scotland. He was also invited by the Government of Australia and the High Court of Australia to attend the Indo-Australian Legal Forum, held in March 2015 in Canberra, Australia. After five months, the advocate went to Astana to participate in the 13th Meeting of the Prosecutors General of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) the Member States hosted by the Republic of Kazakhstan. [4]Legal Era
Mukul Rohatgi attending a conference
High-Profile Cases
In his capacity as the Additional Solicitor General of India during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Mukul represented the government in the Supreme Court in the 2002 Gujarat riots and fake encounter cases. During his three-year stint as India’s Attorney General, he successfully defended the central government in several important cases like the fake encounters in Manipur, triple talaq, criminal defamation, the challenges to the Aadhaar case, etc.; however, the case of National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) was considered the advocate’s biggest failure. [5]The Wire There were speculations that following Mukul Rohatgi’s failure to defend the government in the NJAC case, he was asked to leave the office of AGI in 2015. In 2017, the Senior Counsel also defended the government’s policy of demonetisation. Mukul also admitted in an interview that while serving as the Attorney General, he was quite close to the PM and his cabinet. [6]DailyO His other high-profile clients include Anil Ambani in the gas dispute between the two Ambani brothers, Indian politicians, like Jayalalithaa, in corruption cases, and the big corporates like Adanis, and Robert Vadra in the 2G scam trial. [7]India Today
Mukul Rohatgi posing outside the Supreme Court of India
In 2018, the Maharashtra government appointed Mukul as the special prosecutor in judge BH Loya death case, and the government paid him a fee of Rs. 1.20 crore. [8]The Economic Times Two years later, he represented the Bihar Government in the Sushant Singh Rajput suicide case after actress Rhea Chakraborty filed a plea, seeking a stay on the investigation. Sr. Ad. Rohatgi also successfully represented social media giants Facebook and WhatsApp before the Delhi High Court in 2021 in their petitions challenging the 2021 IT Rules. Around the same time, Rohatgi fought the case for former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh after the commissioner filed a petition against former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, accusing Anil of maligning him. The year 2021 was an eventful one for the senior advocate as in the same year he defended the makers of the web series Tandav in the criminal cases filed against them and also the former Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in the Supreme Court in a case of alleged forgery. [9]India Today Another high-profile case of securing bail for Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan‘s son Aryan Khan in the cruise ship drugs case was won by Mukul on 28 October 2021. He was part of the Khan’s legal team comprising of other senior advocates including Satish Maneshinde.
Controversy
Lalit Modi’s threatening Instagram post
In January 2023, through an Instagram post, Lalit Modi threatened Mukul Rohatgi, asking him to refrain from calling him a fugitive. However, the Instagram post was later deleted. Rohatgi called it “rubbish” and avoided comment. In the post, Modi wrote,
As a young fly by night lawyer who buys judges I can buy and sell you million times.” [10]Aaj Tak
Awards, Honours, Achievements
- In 2008, Sr. Ad. Rohatgi was conferred the National Law Day Award by the then Prime Minister of India for his “erudition and vast experience in the practice of unflinching support for the basic rights guaranteed under the Constitution.”
- He also made it to the list of “India’s Top 10 Lawyers” released by The Times of India in January 2010. In the same year, Mukul was recognised as a Notable Practitioner by Chambers & Partners, and as a leading Senior Counsel by Legal 500.
- In September 2015, he was featured in a book titled Legal Eagles (Stories of the top seven Indian lawyers).
- The central government appointed the advocate as an eminent jurist in the selection committee for anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal in May 2018.
Favourites
- Book: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Car Collection
Mukul has a passion for collecting supercars, and he owns a Bentley and BMW 7 series among others, which he is often spotted driving to the courts.
Assets/Properties
His wife, Vasudha Rohatagi, purchased a 2,100-square-yard bungalow at Delhi’s Golf Links for 160 crores in February 2023. [11]The Economic Times
Salary
The Senior Counsel charges between Rs. 20 lakh to 35 lakh per appearance in the Supreme Court. [12]The Daily Guardian
Net Worth
His net worth (as of October 2021) is estimated to be Rs 100 crores. [13]Dainik Bhaskar
Facts/Trivia
- Mukul loves reading books in his spare time, and he is an art-connoisseur as well.
- He also loves travelling, and he revealed in an interview, [14]The Times of India
I spend my money on travelling and staying in good hotels across the world.”
- On 18 June 2017, Mr Rohatgi resigned from the post of Attorney General of India and gave the reason that he wanted to continue his private legal practice. In an interview about his sudden resignation, the senior advocate explained, [15]HuffPost
I have conveyed to the government last month that I don’t wish to seek re-appointment. I consider the three-year term as enough and I had also served the previous BJP government for five years. I would like to return to private practice.”
References
