New Delhi: The Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, has appointed Advocate Shantanu Jugtawat as Central Government Counsel for conducting litigation on behalf of the Union Government before courts.
As Central Government Counsel, Jugtawat will represent various ministries and departments of the Government of India in civil and constitutional matters and assist in protecting the interests of the Union Government during judicial proceedings.
Originally from Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Shantanu Jugtawat is a well-known practitioner in constitutional and criminal law. He is presently serving as Special Public Prosecutor for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), besides holding the position of Senior Public Prosecutor for the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Delhi.
He has also previously served as Standing Counsel for the Finance Department (Commercial Taxes), Government of Rajasthan.
An alumnus of National Law Institute University (NLIU), Bhopal, Jugtawat has been practicing before the Supreme Court of India and the Rajasthan High Court since 2010. He secured 34th rank in the Delhi Judicial Services Examination, 2010.
Jugtawat is also a senior member of the Supreme Court Bar Association. In the early phase of his legal career, he worked as Assistant Advocate to late Amarendra Sharan, former Additional Solicitor General of India, at the Supreme Court.
Over the years, he has appeared in several important and high-profile matters before the Supreme Court, including the Sabarimala case, the Satyama Dubey (Hathras rape case), State of Punjab vs. Devender Singh relating to sub-categorisation within Scheduled Castes, and Saurav Yadav vs. State of Uttar Pradesh, a significant judgment concerning vertical and horizontal reservation.
His appointment is being seen as recognition of his contribution to constitutional, criminal and public law litigation before constitutional courts.