Supreme Court Raises Alarm Over Summoning Lawyers Directly by Police

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) The Supreme Court has raised concerns about police or investigative agencies summoning lawyers directly for advising clients, stating it could significantly compromise the autonomy of the legal profession and pose a direct threat to the independence of the justice system.

A bench comprising Justices K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh noted the essential role of the legal profession in justice administration. "Allowing investigating agencies or police to directly summon defence counsel or lawyers advising parties in a case would severely impact the autonomy of the legal profession and potentially threaten the administration of justice's independence," said the apex court.

The bench posed key questions: "When a lawyer's association to a case is merely advisory, can the investigating agency summon the lawyer for questioning directly?" It further inquired, "If the agency believes the lawyer's role extends beyond advising, should summoning be permitted without judicial oversight?" The court emphasized these points, noting the importance of ensuring lawyers can perform their duties fearlessly and effectively, impacting the administration of justice.

The issue arose during a hearing of a Gujarat-based advocate's plea challenging a high court order from June 12 that refused to quash a police summons.

The Supreme Court stayed the police notice and directed the state not to enforce the summons till further notice. It also sought a response from the Gujarat government.

The context involves a loan agreement executed last June, leading to an FIR and the subsequent arrest of the accused in February. The petitioner lawyer for the accused successfully secured bail for his client, but the police summoned him soon after.

Recently, such cases gained attention as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) directed its officers not to summon advocates in money laundering investigations without the director's approval. This direction followed a controversy where ED issued summons to Supreme Court lawyers Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal, who advised a company on an ESOP matter.

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) deemed this a grave concern threatening the legal profession's foundations and urged the Chief Justice of India to take notice.

On Wednesday, highlighting the rights and privileges lawyers enjoy under Article 19 (1)(g) of the Constitution, which protects their right to practice professions, the bench called for inputs from the attorney general, solicitor general, Bar Council of India chair, and SCBA and SCAORA presidents.

The bench directed that the case documents be presented to the Chief Justice of India for further instructions.

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