NIA raids at lawyers' houses: Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana to issue notices to NIA officers for breach of privilege

Tribune News Service

Ramkrishan Upadhyay  

Chandigarh, October 20 

The Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana has decided to issue notices to all National Investigation Agency (NIA) officers who had conducted “raids” at the offices and residences of advocates  for breach of attorney–client privilege that is granted under the Evidence Act, Bar Council of India Rules and the Advocates Act 1961.  

Suvir Sidhu, Chairman of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, said the decision in this regard had been taken in an emergency meeting of the Council held on Wednesday to discuss the issue. 

Sidhu said that investigating agencies are expected to be fair and operate consistently with constitutional norms, but such raids being conducted mere on the basis of apprehension cannot be justified. Sidhu said all the executive members of the Council have condemned the raids conducted by NIA teams at the residence-cum-legal offices of advocates in Chandigarh, Gurugram and Bathinda, and seizure of their phones and laptops.  

Sidhu said that the Bar Council has already written a letter to the DG of the NIA in this regard. He said that advocates are only the representatives of the clients and not their characters. He said that all the three advocates, whose residences-cum-legal offices were raided and phones were seized by NIA officers, have cooperated with the investigating agency.

Sidhu said that since the action of the NIA officers is in violation of the rules and Act the members were of the view that some kind of an action should be taken so that the repetition of incidents can be stopped in future. In view of this, the Bar Council has decided to issue notices to all the officers of the NIA who conducted the raids at lawyers’ residences for breach of the attorney–client privilege, he said.

Sidhu said that Section 126 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 prohibits an attorney from disclosing an attorney-client privileged communication. The communication may be of any form and nature—verbal or documentary.   

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