West Bengal Advocate General Kishore Datta tendered his resignation to Governor R.N. Ravi on Tuesday morning, May 5, 2026, following the Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) historic defeat in the 2026 Assembly elections. Datta’s departure from his role as the state’s top legal officer is a customary move following a change in government, designed to allow the incoming administration—led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after securing 206 seats—to appoint its own legal counsel.
The resignation marks the end of Datta’s second stint as the Advocate General. He was most recently appointed in December 2023, succeeding S.N. Mookherjee. Datta, a Senior Advocate considered close to outgoing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, previously served in the position from February 2017 to September 2021 before stepping down due to “personal reasons”. His second term was characterized by representing the state in several high-profile and contentious cases before the.
Following the formal submission of his letter to the Governor’s office at Raj Bhavan, the entire existing panel of government lawyers representing West Bengal was also reportedly scrapped. This move paves the way for a complete overhaul of the state’s legal department. Reports indicate that BJP-affiliated legal associations have already approached the High Court, requesting a brief three-week pause on orders against the state to allow the new government time to constitute its fresh panel of representatives.
The process for appointing a new Advocate General will commence once the BJP-led Cabinet is officially sworn in. Under Article 165 of the Constitution, the state government recommends a candidate to the Governor, who then formally issues the appointment. Despite the significant administrative shifts, Mamata Banerjee has remained defiant, stating at a recent press conference that her party was not “defeated” and initially insisting she would not resign. However, Datta’s resignation serves as one of the first major signals of the state’s transition to new leadership.
