The resignation of two-term Advocate General (A-G) of Maharashtra, Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, was accepted on Tuesday by the State Cabinet. Mr. Kumbhakoni said he had resigned the day following the resignation of former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
“I resigned the next day [after] Uddhav- ji [Thackeray] resigned. An Advocate General is supposed to resign because he is always at the pleasure of the government. Even when the earlier government [of] the Bharatiya Janata Party lost its power, I had resigned, and then the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) [alliance government] declined to accept my resignation and requested me to continue. When that government collapsed, the next day, I tendered my resignation. It was initially declined. They requested me to continue and said that the consideration of resignation is deferred till December 31. I have served for six years and the resignation is accepted today,” Mr. Kumbhakoni told Today News 24.
Senior counsel Mr. Kumbhakoni became the A-G on July 6, 2017. He was also a judge in 2008 but resigned in six months over issues related to his seniority. His second term was extended on June 7, 2017 by the Thackeray-led MVA government.
He hails from Solapur and was the first associate A-G of Maharashtra. Mr. Kumbhakoni belongs to a family of advocates, with his father and grandfather practising law at Solapur. He has represented various public bodies, including electricity companies of Maharashtra, various Municipal Corporations (Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Ulhasnagar, Thane, etc.), the Mumbai University, Health University, City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and various Directorates of the Government of Maharashtra. Amongst other cases, he has justified reservation for Marathas, the bullet train project, and Metro 3 project, before the Bombay High Court.
