On 20 June 2025, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a circular that instructed all its field officers to refrain from issuing summons to practitioners/advocates/lawyers during investigation, without prior permission from the Director. The Circular makes it clear that unless the prevailing circumstances falls under the ambit of exceptions provided under S. 132 of Bhartiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 i.e. where actions/communication is in furtherance of an illegal act or the advocate personally observes a crime or fraud—no summons shall be issued to any advocate.
The backdrop said circular is the summons issued by the ED to Senior Advocates Mr. Arvind P. Datar and Mr. Pratap Venugopal related to legal opinion rendered to Care Health Insurance Ltd (CHIL) regarding issuance of ESOPs. The summons issued by ED to said Senior Advocates prompted wide condemnation from legal bodies, including the Supreme Court Bar Association and SCAORA, who labeled it an attack on attorney–client confidentiality and warned it could set a dangerous precedent, potentially resulting in a chilling effect across the legal community. Following the backlash from legal community and SCAORA’s letter to the Chief Justice, the ED withdrew the summons.
Under the new Circular, even in cases where exceptions under Section 132 are made, a summon can only be served subject to prior written authorization from the Director of ED, ensuring a greater degree of oversight and adherence to legal safeguards. The additional check-and-balance seeks to avoid future overreach and preserve both procedural fairness and professional confidentiality.
The Circular marks a significant institutional correction. It not only reaffirms the sanctity of lawyer–client privilege under Article 21 and the BSA, but also introduces Director-level accountability prior to any legal action affecting advocates. It sends a clear message: investigative agencies must exercise restraint and respect core constitutional rights in probes, thereby, setting the stage for greater confidence and independence among lawyers in future investigations.
https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/technical-circular-03-of-2025-dated-20062025-605697.pdf