Haryana A.G. Baldev Raj Mahajan resigns

It is learned that Haryana Advocate General (AG) Baldev Raj Mahajan has asked the state government to relieve him from this post.

Mahajan, 70, a senior advocate, was appointed to the post in November 2014 when Manohar Lal Khattar took over as chief minister after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in the state for the first time. Considered close to the former CM, he continued to work for ten years without a break.

The soft-spoken Mahajan is credited with running the office of over 200 law enforcement officials in Chandigarh and Delhi “smoothly and without any controversy.” Coming from a humble background in Amritsar, Mahajan remained associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Adhivakta Parishad, an organization of right-wing lawyers, through which he came into contact with the former CM and was eventually appointed as the state’s top lawyer.

He cited “personal reasons” for his move and the government is understood to have advised him to continue until a replacement is found.

“He also informed the government about this six months ago when Khattar resigned and Nayab Singh Saini was appointed chief minister. However, he was persuaded to continue working until the elections. He again instructed the government to find a new director general,” said a senior official in the prosecutor general’s office. Mahajan, when contacted, neither confirmed nor denied.

There are at least four names floating around in legal circles who could replace him. These include former Assistant Advocate General of the Government of India Chetan Mittal, senior advocate V.K. Jindal and two lawyers from Mahajan’s team are senior additional advocates general Pritam Singh Saini and Pravindra Singh. Singh was also a member of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission from 2018 to 2023.