Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu-led Himachal Pradesh government on Tuesday appointed Anup Rattan as the state’s new Advocate General.
Rattan, 49, is a practicing lawyer and had formerly served as Himachal’s Additional Advocate General. His appointment’s notification was issued by Himachal Chief Secretary RD Dhiman on Tuesday after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar cleared his name on recommendation of Sukhu.
Ratttan’s name was doing rounds in legal circles ever since Sukhu took oath as the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh. He is considered to be close to Sukhu.
Anup Rattan, Sukhu’s confidant and 2nd generation lawyer
Rattan is considered to be a close confidant of Sukhu. Members of Himachal legal fraternity and state bar association queued up to greet him for his elevation to the constitutional post.
Ever since Sukhu was sworn in, Rattan's name was being mentioned frequently in legal circles. He has replaced Ashok Sharma, who was Himachal’s Advocate General during the Jairam Thakur-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Himachal.
A law graduate from Himachal Pradesh University, Rattan is a second-generation lawyer. His father Jagdish Raj Rattan had also practiced law. Rattan has lost his mother Amrita Devi, who was a head teacher in the government school.
Born in village Gangot (Bharwain) in Una district, Rattan had been active in the students politics and remained a member of National Students Union of India (NSUI), the students wing of the Congress party, which Sukhu had led as state president for almost nine years. This was the time when he also came in contact with fellow students and youth leaders.
Rattan joined the practice at Himachal Pradesh High Court and remained standing counsel for several government departments and public entities like Himachal marketing board and temple trusts.
Rattan represented some of the high-profile cases at the High Court, National Green Tribunal (NGT), and Supreme Court during his term as Additional Advocate General during the earlier Congress government led by Virbhadra Singh.
“I have also been part of several public interest litigations (PILs) relating to environmental issues, public delivery services, and rights of the citizens, besides being a legal correspondent of some national newspapers for a long time,” said Rattan to media persons after assuming the charge.
Rattan had presented the state government in the PIL relating to environmental degradation at Rohtang Pass. He has written several articles on legal issues in newspaper columns.
