Former federal lawmaker Shunmugasundaram appointed new Tamil Nadu Advocate General

Former federal lawmaker Shunmugasundaram appointed new Tamil Nadu Advocate General

The former public prosecutor Shunmugasundaram is a second-generation lawyer who had served as a member of the Rajya Sabha in the past

Senior counsel R. Shunmugasundaram has been appointed as the new Advocate General for the state of Tamil Nadu. His appointment was approved by Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Shunmugasundaram, 67, is a second-generation lawyer and had served as a Public Prosecutor in the past following in the footsteps of his father S. Rajagopal.

Shunmugasundaram replaced Vijay Narayan who resigned from the post on 1 May 2021, a day before the E.K. Palaniswami led All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government was defeated in the state legislative assembly elections, expressing his desire to return to practice.

Shunmugasundaram’s name for the post was suggested by the state’s new government headed by chief minister M.K. Stalin.

Shunmugasundaram is known for his proximity to Tamil Nadu’s new ruling party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). He was elected to the Rajya Sabha, Upper Chamber of India’s bicameral Parliament, as a DMK candidate in 2002 and was the party leader in the Rajya Sabha from 2004 until he retired from the Upper House in 2008.

An alumni of Madurai Law Collage and Madras Law Collage, Chennai, Shunmugasundaram was enrolled as an advocate in the year 1977. He gained experience in criminal law from his father, a leading Madurai-based criminal lawyer and former Public Prosecutor, Madurai.

Shunmugasundaram later rose the ranks to become an Additional Public Prosecutor of the Madras High Court in 1989 and held the post until 1991. He became the Public Prosecutor at Madras High Court, Chennai in 1996 and served in the post until 2001. He represented the Tamil Nadu government before several forums, including MC. Jain Commission of Inquiry that probed the 1991 assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu.

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