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Gujarat HC lawyers oppose police summons to advocate for representing accused
GHCAA said police were a lawyer rendering legal assistance in filing a petition for anticipatory bail and quashing a criminal case on a par with harbouring or assisting in harbouring an accused.
The Gujarat high court lawyers association has criticised the state police for summoning a lawyer for questioning allegedly because he sought anticipatory bail for his client, a senior lawyer.
A resolution passed by the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) on Thursday said it appeared that the police were treating a lawyer rendering legal assistance in filing a petition for anticipatory bail and quashing a criminal case on a par with harbouring or assisting in harbouring an accused.
Advocate, Anik Kadri, who was summoned by a police officer in Gandhinagar under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for discharging his professional duties by filing his vakalatpatra in an anticipatory bail application of his senior advocate, said Asim Pandya president of GHCAA. A vakalatpatra, also called vakalatnama, is a document issued by clients authorising lawyers to appear on their behalf.
“From the summons, it appears that he is called to give his statement for rendering his legal assistance (branding it as harbouring or assisting in harbouring an accused) in filing a quashing petition, anticipatory bail application and other legal proceedings which everyone is entitled to pursue under our constitutional scheme. If an advocate is permitted to be summoned by police for filing legal cases concerning liberty and freedom of his client who might be apprehending his arrest… no advocate will be safe,” according to the resolution.
“There is a court hearing in connection to the matter on Friday so we would not like to comment as it is a sub-judice matter. We will wait for the court decision in the matter,” said Gandhinagar superintendent of police Tarun Kumar Duggal.
The lawyers said that if Kadri is compelled to appear before the police pursuant to the summon issued to him or to make a statement, more than three hundred GHCAA advocates will go to the police station with Kadri.
The association has also threatened to intervene in the proceedings filed by Kadri before the Gujarat high court or any other court.
GHCAA said it will also file a public interest litigation in a representative capacity for the entire lawyer community seeking court’s intervention and laying down guidelines for the arrest or summoning of an advocate. The association will also send representations to the Bar Council of India and State Bar Council to push the Advocates Protection Bill and get a law passed, it said.
