In a move that brings to the forefront the boundaries of professional legal privilege and investigative conduct, the Supreme Court has registered suo motu proceedings to scrutinize the practice of summoning legal professionals in connection with opinions rendered or representation extended to accused persons.
The initiation of the matter follows the Enforcement Directorate’s issuance of summons to Senior Advocates Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal. The summons were reportedly linked to the agency’s probe into the issuance of over 22.7 million Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs), amounting to over ₹250 crore, by Care Health Insurance to former Religare Enterprises chairperson Rashmi Saluja. Arvind Datar had provided a legal opinion supporting the ESOP grant, while Pratap Venugopal acted as the Advocate-on-Record in the matter.
Subsequently, the ED withdrew the summons following widespread opposition from legal associations across the country. In response, the agency issued a circular directing all field offices to refrain from issuing summons to advocates except in accordance with established legal procedures. The circular further specified that in exceptional cases permitted under law, any such summons must receive prior approval from the Director of the ED.
The issue gained further judicial attention after a Bench comprising Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice NK Singh, while adjudicating a matter involving the Gujarat Police’s issuance of summons to an advocate representing an accused, flagged the implications of such investigative practices. The Bench stayed the notice to the advocate and remarked that such actions "will undermine the independence of the legal profession and consequently impact the fair administration of justice." The Bench referred the matter to the Chief Justice of India, resulting in the present suo motu registration.
The case, formally titled In Re: Summoning Advocates Who Give Legal Opinion or Represent Parties During Investigation of Cases and Related Issues, will be heard by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria on July 14.
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