The Gujarat High Court (HC) lawyer Adv Aniq Kadri with the support of the Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) moved a petition challenging Section 41A CrPC issued by the state police for filing a petition for anticipatory bail for the former additional solicitor general (ASG) to the High Court Advocate IH Syed.
On 15 July Pethapur police station, Gandhinagar an FIR was issued under Section 41A, CrpC and send a notice to Adv Kadri quoting his legal assistance to Syed as illegal. Hence, Kadri moved the HC contending that the subject notice under S. 41A CrPC is absolutely vague.
“As there is a court hearing about the matter on Friday. I don’t like to comment as it is a sub-judice matter. I will wait for the court’s decision on the matter”, Kadri said to VO!.
High Court lawyers said that if Adv Kadri is compelled to appear before the police under the summon issued to him or to make a statement, more than three hundred GHCAA advocates will go to the police station with Kadri.
A unanimous resolution was passed by the GHCAA on Thursday saying that the police were misinterpreting Kadri’s legal assistance in filing a petition for anticipatory bail and quashing a criminal case as harbouring or assisting in harbouring an accused. The statement released by the association states that:
“The President of GHCAA called an extraordinary urgent meeting (circular and virtual) of the Managing Committee of GHCAA to show solidarity and support to a very young lawyer of our Association Mr Anik Kadri who is summoned by Police Officer under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for discharging his professional duties by filing his Vakalatpatra in an anticipatory bail application of his senior who was made accused in an apparently false, frivolous and vexatious FIR concerning very trivial offences.
From the summons, it appears that he is called to give his statement for rendering his legal assistance (branding it as harbouring or assisting in harbouring an accused) in filing a quashing petition, anticipatory bail application and other legal proceedings to which everyone is entitled to pursue under our constitutional scheme. If an advocate is permitted to be summoned by police for filing legal cases concerning the liberty and freedom of his client who might be apprehending his arrest according to an FIR or issuance of a non-bailable warrant or who is questioning the legality and validity of a proclamation of being absconder, no advocate will be safe. As an Association of advocates, it is our duty to question and challenge the abuse of police power and to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.
The Managing Committee has passed the following resolution unanimously:
(i) The GHCAA will intervene in the proceeding filed or that may be by Mr Anik Kadri before the High Court of Gujarat or any other court.
(ii) The GHCAA shall also file a public interest litigation/class action or legal action in a representative capacity for the entire lawyer community seeking court’s intervention and laying down guidelines for the arrest of an advocate and with regard to summoning an advocate.
(iii) The GHCAA shall make a detailed representation to the Bar Council of India and State Bar Council in this regard to push forward the Advocates Protection Bill and get a law passed.
(iv) The GHCAA shall make a representation to the Advocate General also to see that advocates are not harassed by police in the garb of exercising police power.
(v) If Mr Anik Kadri is compelled to attend the police station pursuant to the summon issued to him or to make a statement upon the conclusion of all legal proceedings, more than three hundred advocates of GHCAA will go to the police station with Mr Anik Kadri and stand with him in protest against the police excesses and abuse of police power.”
Read More: Gujarat HC Grants Anticipatory Bail To Senior Advocate IH Syed
