Punjab AG quits, makes way for 5th incumbent in 10 months

Senior advocate Anmol Rattan Sidhu has resigned from the post of advocate general of Punjab citing personal reasons, while criminal lawyer Vinod Ghai is set to succeed him.

Ghai will be the fifth AG of the state in 10 months once he is appointed to the post.

Having done LLB from the Panjab University in 1989, Ghai was designated as a senior advocate in May 2012.

Earlier, Sidhu said he has resigned from the post of Punjab's advocate general due to personal reasons.

In his July 19 resignation letter to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Sidhu wrote, "I am really thankful to the party for giving me a chance to represent the office of the Advocate General, Punjab.

"Due to personal reasons, I will not be able to serve this prestigious office, therefore, I hereby tender my resignation which may kindly be accepted at the earliest."

Sidhu shared his letter written to the chief minister on Twitter on Tuesday, seven days after tendering his resignation.

"Most humbly, submitting my resignation from the post of advocate general of the state of Punjab. Thankful to Hon'ble the Chief Minister @BhagwantMann ji @ArvindKejriwal ji @raghav_chadha ji and above all the people for this opportunity to serve the state," he said in a tweet.

Talking to reporters, Sidhu expressed satisfaction over his team's performance in 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, adding that the state government had also praised their efforts.

Sidhu and his team had played an important role in getting the custody of Bishnoi in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case.

On July 12, unidentified people had hurled stones at the Shatabdi Express near Panipat, causing a crack in the windowpane of a berth occupied by Sidhu, who was returning from Delhi after appearing in the Supreme Court in a case against Bishnoi.

Sidhu was appointed as the advocate general in March. The post had then fallen vacant following the resignation of Deepinder Singh Patwalia after the Punjab Assembly poll results were declared and the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in the state.

Patwalia became the AG in November last year following the resignation of APS Deol from the post. Deol was appointed as the state's top law officer in September after his predecessor Atul Nanda tendered his resignation following the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh as the chief minister.