During the hearing on Monday, the court said that ED is crossing its limits. ED had issued summons to some lawyers for advising the accused in economic crimes cases, on which the bench expressed concern. Taking suo motu cognizance, a bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice Vinod Chandran said that some guidelines should be laid down for ED, so that the independence of the legal profession is not affected.
The investigating agency has issued summons to senior advocates Arvind Datar and Pratap Venugopal. Questioning the ED summons, the Chief Justice said how can a notice be issued on the communication between a lawyer and his client. He also said that ED is violating its limits. Justice BR Gavai suggested that some guidelines should be laid down for issuing such notices, as this may have a negative impact on the practice of senior lawyers. Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told that this matter should be taken up with
Solicitor General said - do not form an opinion on the basis of media reports
Tushar Mehta clarified that it is not appropriate to issue summons to lawyers for giving legal advice. He also mentioned that many times false narratives are created to defame the ED. Lawyers believe that issuing such notices will start a wrong tradition. A lawyer expressed concern that if this trend continues, lawyers will start shying away from giving their honest and independent opinion. The Attorney General also agreed to this and said that whatever is happening is wrong. At the same time, the Chief Justice said that he is surprised to read the reports coming in this regard.
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