Mukul Rohatgi's second stint was to begin on October 1. (FILE)
Senior lawyer Mukul Rohatgi has declined the centre's offer to return as the Attorney General of India, the government's top lawyer, sources said.
Mukul Rohatgi, 67, stepped down as Attorney General in June 2017. KK Venugopal succeeded him.
Mr Venugopal's extended tenure ends on September 30. He served as the Centre's top law officer for five years. The central government had proposed Mukul Rohatgi to become the Attorney General again which was earlier accepted by him. His second stint was to begin on October 1, according to the sources.
When Mr Venugopal's first term as the attorney general was to end in 2020, he requested the government to relieve him of his responsibilities on account of his age. The government asked him to continue for another term. He stayed on, but only for two years.
Mukul Rohatgi, a veteran lawyer, has appeared in several high profile cases in the Supreme Court as well as High Courts across the country, including the Gujarat riots case, in which he represented the Gujarat government. He also argued the case related to the National Judicial Appointment Commission. More recently, Mr Rohatgi led the defence team of Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan, who was arrested in the drugs-on-cruise case.