NEW DELHI: In the process of framing guidelines to bar probe agencies from summoning lawyers for rendering opinion to clients, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said the privilege of immunity from prosecution is available to a lawyer as long as he or she acts as a legal practitioner for a client.During a proceeding initiated suo motu after the Enforcement Directorate issued summons to two senior advocates and later withdrew it, a bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said, “We cannot ignore the fact that two senior advocates were issued summons. We are only for people acting solely as advocates and about privileged lawyer-client communications.”“The privilege of immunity from prosecution statutorily conferred on lawyers for appearing, advising or giving legal opinions to clients is like the sanction provision under the IPC. Their actions are privileged if they are done in the course of their duties as a lawyer. If they themselves indulge in wrong-doing or commit an offence, then there is no protection from prosecution,” the CJI said.Senior advocates Vikas Singh, Ranjit Kumar, Mukul Rohatgi, A M Singhvi, A S Nadkarni Amit Desai, Vijay Hansaria, Shoeb Alam and many others flagged the summons issued to the advocates and said tomorrow they would seek details of bank accounts of lawyers, search their premises and seek electronic devices used by advocates in the name of investigating their clients. “Are we not taking things too far,” the CJI asked.Attorney general R Venkataramani said the govt has already acted swiftly and issued instructions to all probe agencies not to issue summons to lawyers for their profession-related work. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta said he agrees with everyone in the courtroom that lawyers must not be summoned for their professional work.Mehta said it would not be prudent for the court to lay down guidelines based on a singular infraction and cautioned that it could prove counterproductive. “The agencies also cannot ignore a lawyer, who is a director of a company under investigation for fraudulent transactions, giving an opinion for commission of an illegality. Merely because he is a lawyer, he would not be immune from prosecution for the acts he did as director of the company,” the SG said.Giving another example, he also said a fugitive, who fled the country, told the agency that the documents demanded from him are available with a law firm and that the officers could take it from the law firm. “Should the agency not go to the law firm to collect the documents? Will that impinge upon the lawyer’s privilege?” SC asked and told the AG and the SG to give their response to the suggestions given by SCBA, SCAORA and other lawyers by Aug 12.