The Supreme Court of India has taken suo motu notice of a growing trend where investigative agencies are directly summoning lawyers to question them about legal advice given to clients. The Court expressed a prima facie (first‑impression) view that such practices are “untenable” and pose a danger to the autonomy and independence of the legal profession.

In a related case, a Gujarat‑based attorney was summoned by the police over a client‑related matter. Justices K.V. Viswanathan and N. Kotiswar Singh launched suo motu proceedings, holding that direct summons of counsel by probe agencies is prima facie unsustainable and strikes at the core of judicial fairness.

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