On Thursday, the Delhi Police Special Cell raided the office of Mehmood Pracha, a lawyer representing several people charged in the February riots in Delhi.
The raid, which lasted 15 hours, is related to alleged cases of fraud. This includes allegations that Pracha had forged signatures on a notarized document and instigated a man to testify falsely in a riot case, reported the Print.
The February riots left 53 dead, many injured and thousands more affected. It was the worst fighting between Hindus and Muslims in seven decades.
The drastic police action has raised serious doubts among Indian lawyers about the violation of attorney-client privilege – the idea that communication between a person and their attorney is confidential. By accessing the computers used by Pracha, the Delhi Police can potentially access communication between Pracha and the clients he represents in the Delhi riots cases.
Compromise the law
“This action is deeply concerning as attorney-client confidentiality is the foundation of legal practice, especially for criminal defense lawyers,” explained Abhinav Sekhri, a lawyer practicing in Delhi.
Anuj Bhuwania, professor at OP Jindal Global University explains that this action hits the heart of the rule of law in India: “If a lawyer fighting against the state can simply be raided by the state and his materials confiscated, then really, it practically ends. Rule of law.”
Mumbai-based Yug Chaudhry raises similar concerns about the blow this raid hits on India’s legal system. “This raises very serious concerns, especially given the current climate in which the government is persecuting dissidents,” he explained. “On top of that, if the government starts prosecuting lawyers, as they are fighting for dissidents, the entire legal system, which is so dependent on lawyers, will be seriously compromised.”
Without precedents
Bhuwania points to the unprecedented nature of what this raid on Pracha represents: “We have had the Emergency, we have had situations like the fight against the Naxals, but I cannot remember if the state ever took such legal action.”
Sekhri argues that not only was the Delhi police at fault, it was also a court that allowed it. “In fact, what makes it more concerning is that the police could have tried to ‘raid’ their office themselves, but they obtained a warrant from a judge, which is designed to function as a checkpoint and find out what the purpose of the search, ”he said.
Illegal raid
Nikhil Mehra, a lawyer practicing in Delhi, identifies more loopholes in the raid. “The order has been issued under Section 93 [of the Code Of Criminal Procedure], which only allows you to ‘search’ specific documents, ”Mehra explained. “Those are the documents on the pretext of which the warrant would have been obtained in the first place. However, by seizing the entire hard drive and the metadata corresponding to all the files, the police have violated the terms of the order. Besides the breach of the terms of the order, this will obviously also cause a violation of the attorney-client privilege in relation to other cases as well, which are not the subject of the order. “
in a video of the raid, Pracha is seen making a similar point: “According to the judge’s order, you cannot [my computers] but you can look [at my emails]. “
However, the policeman insists that he must seize Pracha’s hard drives.
lawyer @MehmoodPracha raided by Delhi police. Pracha is a prominent lawyer in many of the Delhi riot cases. pic.twitter.com/PnjQJdwKWD
– Fatima Khan (@khanthefatima) Dec 24, 2020
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