The lawyers of the Madras Bar Association, Madras High Court Advocates Association and Women Lawyers Association have expressed shock over reports that senior lawyer Nalini Chidambaram may be issued fresh summons by the Enforcement Directorate to be present at its Kolkata office in connection with fees received by her in connection with the Saradha Group.
This development comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate disagreed with the contentions of former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s wife Nalini, who did not turn up before the agency in Kolkata despite being summoned to record her statement in connection with the Saradha scam case.
“Mrs. Nalini Chidambaram received professional fees by cheques, after deduction of tax and the fees has been duly reflected in her accounts and Income Tax returns and subjected to tax at the maximum rate thereon,” the associations said in a joint press statement.
“It is outrageous that the Enforcement Directorate is issuing summons to a lawyer in connection with the fees received on behalf of a client by invoking the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,” they said.
Condemning the proposed summons to Nalini, who was a distinguished member of the bar with 48 years of practice, the associations said they considered it as an onslaught on the entire legal fraternity and an abuse of authority.
