Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi has declined the offer by the Narendra Modi government to return as the Attorney General of India.
With this, the Centre is to look for another nominee to the post as the term of incumbent Attorney General K K Venugopal is coming to end on September 30.
The 66-year-old ace lawyer, who has appeared in several high-profile cases in the apex court as well as high courts across the country, has confirmed the refusal to the offer but did not specify the reasons.
Rohatgi, one of the top lawyers of the country, was first appointed as the A-G in 2014 for a three-year term. He was succeeded by Venugopal, who was appointed to the post in July 2017.
Venugopal was reappointed as the top law officer of the country for three months on June 29.
He had been unwilling to continue in the post due to "personal reasons". However, he acceded to a request from the government for continuing till September 30, Union law ministry officials had said earlier.
When Venugopal's first term as the A-G was to end in 2020, he had requested the government to relieve him of his responsibilities on account of his age.
He later accepted a fresh tenure of a year since the government was keen on him continuing, given the high-profile cases he was handling and his vast experience at the Bar.
The AG usually has a tenure of three years.
(With inputs from agencies)