The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday withdrew the summons issued to Senior Advocate Pratap Venugopal over a legal opinion rendered in his professional capacity.
The move followed a strong-worded letter written by the Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) to Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai, asking him to uphold the independence of the Bar and prevent any misuse of executive power that could undermine the dignity of the legal profession.
Terming the ED’s action as a ‘deeply disquieting development’ that posed a serious threat to the foundational principles of lawyer-client confidentiality and the independence of the legal profession, the association warned that such coercive measures could have a chilling effect on the legal community.
The letter called Senior Advocate Venugopal as a widely respected member of the legal fraternity, whose professional record and sincerity led to his designation as a Senior Advocate in 2025.
It requested the Supreme Court to examine the legality and propriety of such summons being issued to legal professionals and safeguard the constitutional & professional protections afforded to advocates.
It further sought formulation of down guidelines to prevent further erosion of lawyer-client privilege.
Noting that the role of a lawyer in offering legal advice was both privileged and protected, the association said any interference by investigative agencies resulted in striking at the heart of the rule of law.
ED issued summons to Senior Advocate Venugopal on June 18, 2025 under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a probe related to the Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) granted by Care Health Insurance to former Religare Enterprises Chairperson Rashmi Saluja.
Venugopal was the Advocate-on-Record for a legal opinion authored by Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, which supported the grant of stock options.
ED had earlier issued similar summons to Datar, but withdrew them later following strong objection by the Bar members.
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