SC orders immediate release of Delhi lawyer arrested by Haryana STF in murder case

New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of Delhi-based advocate Vikram Singh, who was arrested by the Special Task Force of Gurugram Police in connection with a murder case.

A bench comprising Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria passed the order after hearing senior advocate Vikas Singh, who appeared for the lawyer.

The court directed that Singh be released forthwith on furnishing a bail bond of Rs 10,000, and listed the matter for further hearing next Wednesday.

The bench directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the top court to communicate the order to Gurugram police commissioner for immediate compliance.

At the outset, Vikas Singh, who is also president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said that anybody practising in criminal law will now be susceptible to this kind of coercive measures.

He said the arrested advocate was representing gangsters but this kind of atrocities from police against lawyers were impermissible.

Referring to a recent Supreme Court judgment, which held that every arrested person must be provided the grounds of arrest in writing in a language they understood irrespective of the nature of the offence involved, Singh alleged that the Special Task Force (STF) did not furnish the same.

The senior lawyer added that he persuaded Delhi lawyers not to continue their strike on the issue as a plea was filed in the top court.

Taking note of the submissions, the bench issued notices to Haryana and Delhi governments and the Bar Council of India.

"The petitioner is an advocate and not likely to evade the process (of law). Thus interim protection is granted to release the petitioner forthwith on furnishing of bail bonds of Rs 10,000. List the plea on next Wednesday. Let the Registrar Judicial (of the Supreme Court) communicate the order to the Gurugram police commissioner," the CJI said in the order.

It took note of the counsel's submissions that the STF officers were in contact with the arrested lawyer.

"The petitioner contends that he, on the persuasion of ASI (Assistant Sub-Inspector), went to the police station. However after he went, without furnishing him the grounds of arrest, he was taken into custody," the bench said.

On November 6, bar associations across Delhi district courts abstained from work to protest Singh's false implication in the murder case.

The petition in Supreme Court seeks his immediate release and a judicial probe into the STF's alleged illegal action.

The plea has also sought a direction to quash all criminal proceedings against the petitioner in connection with the case registered under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 25 of the Arms Act.

Singh, an advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of Delhi since July 2019, is presently lodged in Faridabad Jail.

"In the course of his professional duties, the petitioner has represented several clients in criminal cases between 2021 and 2025, including persons alleged to have connections with one Kapil Sangwan @ Nandu. All such representations were undertaken purely in the discharge of his professional obligations and in conformity with the Advocates Act and the standards of professional ethics...

"However, instead of respecting the independence of the Bar, the investigating agency has sought to criminalise the petitioner's professional association with his clients, thereby undermining the rule of law and the sanctity of the advocate-client relationship," the plea said.

It said the lawyer was targeted after filing an application before a court alleging custodial assault on one of his clients, Jyoti Prakash alias "Baba", who reportedly suffered a leg fracture while in STF custody.

"The retaliatory action by the investigating agency culminated in my illegal arrest," the petition said.

It said Vikram Singh was arrested on October 31 without a written grounds of arrest or independent witnesses, in violation of Articles 21 and 22 of the Constitution.

On November 1, a trial court in Faridabad remanded Singh to judicial custody for 14 days by a mechanical and non-speaking order, devoid of any reasoning or material connecting him to alleged offences, it said. PTI SJK SJK RUK RUK