Supreme Court Stays Haryana Police Investigation Against Advocate In Murder Case

The Supreme Court today stayed the investigation by the Haryana Police Special Task Force (STF) against an advocate in connection with a murder case. The Court also confirmed his interim bail.The bench comprising Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was hearing a writ petition filed by Advocate Vikram Singh challenging his arrest and remand in the case. The advocate alleged that he was arrested to extract information about his clients. Last week, the Court had ordered the interim release of the lawyer.Sr Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, urged the court to refer the matter to the CBI and call for the status report. He also said that the Court may consider discharging the petitioner from the FIR after the CBI report is filed. He stressed : "The way the prosecution is behaving in this case is atrocious!" He added that the police were coercing the petitioner to disclose against the client, after being called to the police station in the capacity of an advocate.The Counsel for the State of Haryana refuted this claim, stating that he was not called as an advocate. Singh affirmed that, as per the memorandum of the case, he was in fact called as a lawyer.The bench has now listed the matter after 2 weeks. The bench passed the following order : " The investigation qua the petitioner is stayed, bail is confirmed." Previously, Sr Advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that third-degree torture was meted out on the lawyer. Singh further explained that the police was pressuring the lawyer to get a gangwar dispute on the ground that he was respresenting gangsters. He asked how could a lawyer settle a matter between hardened gangsters. Singh urged the court to confirm the interim bail and also refer the matter to the CBI, considering the seriousness of the matter.The bench was also told that despite the order of this Court granting him bail on November 12, the petitioner was released only the next day, November 13 at 8:30 PM.BackgroundSingh was arrested by the Gurugram Special Task Force on October 31 and was remanded to 14 days of judicial custody by the Judicial Magistrate, Faridabad, on November 1.The FIR is registered in relation to the murder of one Suraj Bhan, who was allegedly shot dead by the gang of Kapil Sangwan @ Nandu. Vikram Singh's client Jyoti Prakash @ Babu was arrested in the case on March 16, 2024.According to the petition, Singh had filed several applications in court alleging that his client was being ill-treated in police custody.Singh stated in the petition that the Investigating Officer had issued him notices under Section 41A of the CrPC, demanding that he appear before the police and disclose information regarding his clients, including Kapil Sangwan. He alleged that when he visited the police station on October 31 in response to such a notice, he was arrested without justification.In his Article 32 petition, Singh has described his arrest as an “exceptional case” warranting the Supreme Court's intervention, asserting that it represents a direct assault on the independence of the Bar.“The manner of arrest, following a nineteen-month silence after FIR registration when all other accused stand released on bail, reveals a calculated attempt to intimidate and punish a member of the Bar for fearless representation of his clients,” the petition states.It further alleges that the coercive action was undertaken in defiance of constitutional safeguards, sending “a chilling message to the legal fraternity” and undermining the rule of law.The plea emphasises that it is a settled principle of law that an advocate cannot be compelled to disclose client-related information or be subjected to coercive action for discharging professional duties. Doing so, the petition argues, “strikes at the very root of the rule of law and the right to legal representation.”Reference is also placed on the recent judgment of the Supreme Court directing the police officers not to summon advocates to get clients' details.Additionally, the petitioner had informed the STF officials about the Tervi Sanskar, the 13th-day Hindu funeral ritual, scheduled for 16.10.2025, following his grandfather's death. Despite being fully aware of his family obligations and the recent bereavement, the STF Gurugram authorities arrested him on 31.10.2025, showing complete disregard for basic human sensitivity.The Petitioner further states that this was not the first instance of coercive or intimidating conduct. After the registration of FIR No. 58/2024, the then In-charge of STF Gurugram, Mr. Narender Chauhan, had contacted him seeking privileged advocate-client communications, issuing threats of further criminal cases, including MACOCA, and warning that he would face humiliation in custody. These threats were later carried out when the petitioner was sent to judicial custody.The petition was drafted by Bhanu Pratap Singh, Kehshav Singh, Md. Imran Ahmad Advocates. It was filed through...

Supreme Court Stays Haryana Police Investigation Against Advocate In Murder Case

Anmol Kaur Bawa

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