Punjab to get fifth AG in 10 months as Sidhu resigns

CHANDIGARH:  Punjab Advocate General (AG) Anmol Rattan Sidhu has resigned from his post citing personal reasons. He remained in office for just four months. In the last 10 months, the state is now set to have its fifth AG. Senior advocate Vinod Ghai is likely to be appointed as the next AG.

Sidhu was appointed on the post when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came into power in the state in March this year. In his resignation letter dated July 19, written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Sidhu has written, “I am really thankful to the party for giving me a chance to represent the office of Advocate General, Punjab. Due to my personal reasons, I won’t be able to serve this prestigious office , therefore, I hereby tender my resignation which may be kindly be accepted at the earliest.’’

Sources say there were differences between Sidhu and the government over appointment of law officers. Mann has apparently cleared the name of Ghai as new Punjab AG. The file has been sent to Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit for formal approval, according to sources. Ghai, who earned his LLB degree from Panjab University in 1989, was designated as a senior advocate in May 2012.

Mann said Sidhu resigned from the post due to personal reasons. “I had requested him to continue if he could, but he expressed his inability due to personal reasons,” the chief minister said. Sidhu expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance over the last four months. Replying to a question on the handling of several cases, including those related to the 2015 sacrilege incidents and against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, Sidhu said he and his team performed with full sincerity, and added that the state government had also praised their efforts.

Sidhu took the post after senior advocate Deepinder Singh Patwalia, who was appointed as the Advocate General of Punjab on Nov. 19, 2021 by the then Charanjit Singh Channi government, resigned in March, a day after the Congress was routed out of power by the Aam Aadmi Party in the Assembly elections.

Patwalia had earlier replaced senior advocate APS Deol who had resigned due to opposition from within the Congress. Deol was also appointed by the Channi government after senior advocate and Supreme Court lawyer Atul Nanda resigned days after Capt Amarinder Singh stepped down as the chief minister in September last year.

Vinod Ghai likely to be new AG
Sources say there were differences between Sidhu and the government over appointment of law officers. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is said to have cleared the name of senior advocate Vinod Ghai as the new Punjab AG