The Supreme Court initiated suo motu proceedings to address the growing concern over investigative agencies summoning advocates for the legal advice rendered by them or for representing clients during investigations, a practice which the Court noted could undermine the independence of the legal profession.
The case, titled “In Re: Summoning Advocates Who Give Legal Opinion or Represent Parties During Investigation of Cases and Related Issues”, is scheduled to be heard on July 14 by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, Justice K. Vinod Chandran, and Justice N.V. Anjaria.
The move follows observations made on June 25 by a bench of Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice N.K. Singh in a matter involving the Gujarat Police, where an advocate was summoned in connection with his representation of an accused. While staying the notice issued to the lawyer, the bench raised serious concern over the implications of such summons on the autonomy of the legal profession and the broader administration of justice. The bench had then referred the issue to the Chief Justice for appropriate action.
Following this, the Supreme Court registered a suo motu case on July 4 to examine the broader legal and constitutional questions surrounding the practice.
This development comes in the wake of a recent controversy involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had summoned two Senior Advocates, Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal, regarding legal opinions they had provided. The move sparked widespread protest within the legal fraternity, with several bar associations expressing strong opposition. In response to the backlash, the ED not only withdrew the summons but also issued an internal directive stating that no lawyer shall be summoned without prior approval from the Director of Enforcement.
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