SCBA condemns raid on lawyer residence

The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) on Monday expressed “deep shock and concern” over the “illegal and brazen” exercise of power by the Delhi Police in raiding the residence of advocate Mehmood Pracha, who is representing many northeast Delhi riots accused.

The SCBA, under its president Dushyant A. Dave – a senior advocate, also condemned the “brutal assault” of a lawyer in Etah district of Uttar Pradesh by police.

The Association said the search and seizure by the police on the premises of an advocate in a proceeding not pertaining to or relating to a member of the Bar was a malicious act that defeated the rights of an advocate to practise his profession without fear or favour.

It said that the search and seizure at Mr. Pracha’s premises were “intimidatory and designed to abuse the due process by coercing an advocate to succumb to police threats and methods unheard of in legal annals”.

“Such a search/seizure is in the teeth of the specific provisions of law which recognise the client lawyer relationship and protects all correspondence between the advocate and his client,” the SCBA said.

“The seizures of confidential information which is protected by lawyer-client privilege, in a search conducted by the very police authorities who are prosecuting the lawyer’s clients, will prejudicially affect the rights and guarantees of the accused,” it stated.

The Association contended that “the grant of a warrant by the Magistracy to search a lawyer’s office in a routine mechanical manner, particularly in respect of a lawyer’s communication and correspondences, was antithetical to rule of law and constitutes a disturbing violation of this privilege directly affecting the administration of justice”.

Call to police

The SCBA called upon the police to “immediately forbear, cease and desist from using the information available on the devices so seized”.

On the lawyer assault in Etah, the Association said it was “atrocious and unacceptable”.

It expressed “serious concern on the reprehensible conduct of the police in both these cases and calls upon all concerned authorities to take serious punitive action against all concerned for their atrocious conduct which denigrates and violates the mandate of the Rule of law”.