New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday held that allowing police or prosecuting agencies to summon defence counsel directly in connection with client cases “seriously undermines the autonomy of the legal profession” and poses a “direct threat to the independence of justice administration.” A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh framed two core questions for fuller consideration: whether police should ever summon a lawyer advising a party without judicial oversight, and if so, under what exceptional circumstances.
The remarks came while hearing an appeal by a Gujarat-based advocate who challenged a High Court order upholding a police notice requiring him to appear in a bribery-related FIR against his client. The Supreme Court stayed the notice pending further orders and asked the state to refrain from summoning the lawyer.
“The legal profession is integral to the administration of justice,” the bench observed, noting that lawyers enjoy constitutional protections under Article 19(1)(g) and statutory privileges. It called for inputs from the Attorney General, Solicitor General, the Bar Council of India chairperson, and presidents of the Supreme Court Bar Association and Advocates-on-Record Association. Papers will be placed before the Chief Justice for appropriate directions.
The issue has gained urgency after the Enforcement Directorate recently withdrew summonses to senior advocates Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal in a money-laundering probe, pending “approval” from the agency’s director. Both the SCBA and SCAORA condemned prior ED notices as a “disturbing trend” that “strikes at the foundations of the legal profession,” and urged the Chief Justice to take suo motu cognizance.
