The Enforcement Directorate is “crossing all limits”, the Supreme Court said on Monday July 20 as it expressed serious concern over the agency summoning advocates for offering legal advice or representing clients during investigations. It also called for guidelines on the matter.On July 10 The Supreme Court had initiated a suo motu case over the issue of investigation agencies summoning lawyers who offer their opinion or represent parties in cases to examine if they can be put to notice. (A suo motu case is when a court initiates legal proceedings on its own, without a formal petition, usually in matters of public interest or injustice).
The action comes in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoning a couple of senior lawyers – Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal.
The remarks from an apex court bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran came during a suo motu hearing initiated by the court to address the implications of such actions on the independence of the legal profession.
“The communication between a lawyer and the clients is privileged communication and how can the notices be issued against them… they are crossing all limits,” the CJI said.“Guidelines should be framed,” the CJI said while responding to submissions that recent ED notices to legal professionals like senior advocate Arvind Datar could have a chilling effect on the practice of law.Also Read: Why ED being used for political battles? SC rejects plea against Karnataka CM’s wife in MUDA scam caseAttorney General R Vennkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the issue had been taken up at the highest level and the probe agency has been asked not to issue notices to the lawyers for rendering legal advice.“Lawyers cannot be summoned for rendering legal opinions,” the solicitor general said.He, however, said that there have been attempts to malign institutions by creating false narratives.(Edited by : Vivek Dubey)First Published: Jul 21, 2025 3:29 PM IST
