The Madhya Pradesh High Court held that advocates operating offices from their residences cannot be charged commercial electricity tariffs, observing that the legal profession differs fundamentally from trade or business activities since legal practice does not involve buying, selling or commercial trading of goods or services.
The Allahabad High Court quashed criminal proceedings against advocates, holding that lawyers cannot face prosecution for acts performed during professional duties, observing that treating legal representation as criminal conspiracy would undermine the legal profession and citizens’ valuable right to effective legal assistance and defence.
Today, On 31st October, The Supreme Court ruled that investigating agencies must not summon advocates representing the accused, stressing that “such summons could infringe fundamental rights of the accused” and violate statutory provisions protecting lawyer-client confidentiality under Section 132 and the new BNSS framework.