NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday withdrew its summons issued against a senior advocate for reportedly giving legal advice in a case, after the Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association (SCAORA) wrote to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) for taking note of the coercive action.
The agency wrote to senior advocate Pratap Venugopal, intimating him that the summons have been withdrawn with “immediate effect”.
SCAORA president Vipin Nair had written to CJI B R Gavai on the “deeply disquieting development” having “serious ramifications for the independence of the legal profession and the foundational principle of lawyer-client confidentiality”.
“It has come to our notice that senior advocate Pratap Venugopal, has received on June 19, a summons dated June 18, by ED under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in its investigation into the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) granted by M/s Care Health Insurance Ltd for a purported legal opinion rendered by senior advocate Arvind Datar, wherein Pratap Venugopal, was the advocate-on-record, supporting the grant of stock options to former Religare enterprises chairperson Rashmi Saluja,” the letter said.
Venugopal told TNIE the probe agency’s action was completely illegal, unconstitutional, unwarranted. “It is sad and unfortunate. The action of issuing summons to advocates is an alarming practice besides being wholly contrary to the provisions of Sec 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) 2023,” he said.
SCAORA said Venugopal is “a widely respected member of the legal fraternity,” whose professional record and sincerity led to his designation as a senior advocate earlier this year.
“These actions, by the ED, we believe, amount to an impermissible transgression of the sacrosanct lawyer-client privilege,” the letter continues, warning that such coercive measures could have a chilling effect on the legal community.
Requesting the top court to act decisively, the association urged the court to examine the legality and propriety of such summonses to legal professionals. “Safeguard the constitutional and professional protections afforded to advocates. Lay down guidelines to prevent further erosion of lawyer-client privilege,” it said.
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