SC initiates suo motu case on investigating agencies summoning lawyers of accused

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has initiated a suo motu case to consider the issue of investigating agencies summoning lawyers who provide legal advice or represent accused persons in criminal cases.

The development comes close on the heels of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issuing summons to Senior Advocates Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal. The summons was issued in the course of the ED’s investigation into the grant of over 22.7 million Employee Stock Option Plans (ESOPs), valued at more than Rs 250 crore, by Care Health Insurance to former Religare Enterprises chairperson Rashmi Saluja. Datar had provided a legal opinion supporting the ESOP issuance, while Venugopal was the Advocate-on-Record.

The ED later withdrew the summons to both Datar and Venugopal following widespread criticism from bar associations across the nation. In response to the backlash, the ED also issued a circular directing all field offices not to issue summons to advocates in violation of Section 132. The central agency clarified that any summons under the statutory exceptions must now be approved by the Director of the ED.

The petitioner, a practicing Advocate enrolled in the year 1997, regularly appeared before various courts across the State of Gujarat. He also held the position of President of the Vastral Advocates Association, Gujarat.

The petitioner challenged the said notice before the High Court by filing a Special Criminal Application. By the impugned order, the High Court dismissed the petition after considering a report dated 11-04-2025, which stated that the petitioner had failed to respond to the summons and that, due to his non-cooperation, further investigation had stalled.