Summoning Senior Member of Bar For Discharging Professional Responsibilities Is An Affront To Sanctity Of Advocates' Role: SCAORA on ED Notice To Arvind Datar

In a statement dated June 16, 2025, the Association said, “The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) expresses its strong disapproval and unequivocal condemnation of the Enforcement Directorate’s recent issuance of a notice to Mr. Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate, in connection with a legal opinion rendered by him in the course of his professional duties.”

Calling the action by the Enforcement Directorate a threat to professional independence, the Association stated, “This action by the ED is not only unwarranted but reflects a disturbing trend of investigative overreach that threatens the independence of the legal profession and undermines the very foundation of the rule of law. Mr. Datar is a respected Senior Advocate of unimpeachable integrity, who has consistently upheld the highest standards of professional conduct and legal ethics. To summon a senior member of the Bar for discharging his professional responsibility is a misuse of authority and an affront to the sanctity of the advocate’s role.”

The statement stressed that the independence of the judiciary and the Bar are intrinsically linked pillars of democracy, and warned against coercive actions taken merely on the basis of legal opinions. It said, “The independence of the judiciary and the independence of the Bar are twin pillars of our constitutional democracy. The effective functioning of courts is not possible without fearless and independent advocates. When investigative agencies resort to coercive measures against advocates merely for giving legal opinions, they do not just target individuals—they strike at the institutional structure that ensures justice. Undermining the professional independence of advocates ultimately threatens the judiciary’s independence itself, as both stand or fall together.”

The Association further referred to repeated affirmations by the Supreme Court that legal advisors are not to be held liable for legal advice given to their clients. It stated, “The Hon’ble Supreme Court has, time and again, held that advocates are not liable for the legal acts of their clients simply on the strength of rendering legal opinions. The ED’s action conflates legal advice with criminal complicity, a proposition that is constitutionally untenable and legally unsustainable.”

Calling the issuance of the notice a chilling signal to the legal community, the statement reads, “This move sends a chilling message to the legal community at large and threatens the foundational right of every citizen to receive independent legal counsel without fear of intimidation. If advocates can be subjected to coercive measures for providing legal advice, it would paralyse the functioning of the legal system and erode public confidence in the justice delivery mechanism.”

Even though the notice to Datar has subsequently been withdrawn by the ED, SCAORA noted that the very act of issuing the summon warranted protest. It concluded, “Even though the said summon issued against Mr. Datar has been withdrawn by the ED subsequently, SCAORA lodges its strong protest against the arbitrary exercise of executive power by the agencies, which is considered as an outreach over the independence of Bar and the Judiciary.”

Earlier this month, Dr. Vikas Singh, Senior Advocate and President of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), wrote to the Chief Justice of India, objecting to what he describes as SCAORA overstepping its role by making representations on issues relating to the general Bar and Supreme Court infrastructure. He stated that SCAORA, a limited group formed solely for the benefit of Advocates-on-Record (AoRs), forms a subset of SCBA and lacks any independent mandate to speak on behalf of the wider Supreme Court Bar.