Source: Originally reported by Bar and Bench and TaxGuru on 18 September 2026, with the judgment reported as W.P.(C) 11021/2025. This article has been independently researched and rewritten in full by S&S Co. Advocates & Solicitors for informational purposes: it is not a reproduction of the original reports. Readers are encouraged to consult the original sources and the underlying judgment directly.
An advocate who had provided professional services to Martkarma Technology Pvt. Ltd., a gaming company under GST investigation, challenged a GST Department search of his office and the seizure of his computer and documents.
Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain held that advocate-client privilege cannot operate as an absolute bar to an investigation into the advocate's own conduct where the authorities have prima facie material indicating he may have acted beyond the role of a legal adviser, and upheld the search. The Court directed the authorities to use the cloned data under safeguards, expressly barring them from opening, accessing or examining data belonging to any of the advocate's other, unrelated clients.