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Journalism of Courage
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of a lawyer arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Gurugram Police last month in connection with a murder case allegedly involving the Kapil Sangwan gang.
Issuing notice on a writ petition filed by Vikram Singh, the arrested lawyer, the three-judge bench, presided by Chief Justice of India B R Gavai, directed that the lawyer be released on a bail bond of Rs 10,000. The lawyer in his petition claimed that his arrest was “illegal” and appeared to be “retaliatory action by the investigating agency” to his “bona fide efforts to bring custodial misconduct (of his client) to judicial notice.”
“Taking into consideration the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we are inclined to grant interim protection to the petitioner. The petitioner is an advocate by profession and, as such, he is not likely to flee away from the ends of justice. By way of an ad-interim order, we therefore, direct the respondents to forthwith release the petitioner on bail on the petitioner furnishing bail bond in the sum of ₹10,000 in connection with FIR… registered at (the) police station in Sector-8 of Faridabad,” the Supreme Court bench, also comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria, ordered.
The court also asked its Registry to communicate the order to the Gurugram Police commissioner. Singh, a Delhi-based lawyer, was arrested on October 31. On November 1, he was remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody by the Judicial Magistrate, Faridabad.
Earlier, his client, Jyoti Prakash alias Babu, was arrested in connection with the murder of one Suraj Bhan on March 16, 2024. Senior Advocate Vikas Singh, who is also president of the Supreme Court Bar Association appeared for Singh and told the apex court that the police were pressuring him to reveal the details of his clients. He contended that the arrest was illegal as no written grounds were furnished to the arrestee.
In the writ petition challenging his arrest, Vikram Singh said that “in the course of his professional duties”, he “has represented several clients in criminal cases between 2021 and 2025, including persons alleged to have connections with…Kapil Sangwan @ “Nandu”.”
He added that “all such representations were undertaken purely in the discharge of his professional obligations and in conformity with the Advocates Act, 1961 and the standards of professional ethics” but “instead of respecting the independence of the Bar, the investigating agency has sought to criminalize the Petitioner’s professional association with his clients, thereby undermining the rule of law and the sanctity of the advocate–client relationship.”
He said that the arrest of Jyoti Prakash “was officially intimated to” him “and acting in his professional capacity as counsel,” he “visited the concerned police station twice. Acting on Jyoti Prakash’s instructions,” he also filed an application before the court “highlighting custodial assault and ill-treatment” faced by his client while in the custody of the STF, Gurugram, “which resulted in a leg fracture, as borne out from judicial orders passed in those proceedings.”
