The Delhi High Court recently held that the courts cannot compel advocates representing a party to disclose the source of documents filed on behalf of their client. .Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said that passing such a direction would violate Section 126 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) which establishes the attorney-client privilege. The Court explained that the primary responsibility for documents filed in courts lies with the party and when a client hands over a document to their lawyer for legal defence, the act of handing over and the information about the origin of the document is part of the professional confidentiality. “To compel an advocate to disclose that “Client X gave me this document”, is to compel the disclosure of the “source” of the documents is protected by Section 126 of Indian Evidence Act. Such documents filed by the Counsel are at the behest of the client and for and on his behalf,” the Court observed. It said that while the Court can ask for the truth, it cannot compel a lawyer to disclose what the law expressly protects. Justice Krishna added that for Section 126 IEA proviso to kick in, there must be prima facie material to suggest that the communication itself was for an illegal purpose..The High Court rendered these findings as it set aside a sessions court court order that had directed lawyers representing fast-food giant McDonald’s to disclose how certain documents came into their possession. The sessions court had asked the lawyers to file affidavits stating the date, time and source of applications from 2011 that were relied upon during revision proceedings. The direction followed allegations by the complainant that the documents were illegally obtained or surreptitiously placed on record.After considering the case, the High Court quashed the order. .Senior Advocate Siddharth Aggarwal and advocates Stuti Gujral, Vishwajeet Singh Bhati, Tasnimul Hassan, Priti Verma and Vipin Kumar appeared for McDonald’s.State was represented through advocates Amol Sinha, Kshitiz Garg, Ashvini Kumar, Nitish Dhawan, Chavi Lazarus, Manan Wadhwa and Luv Mahajan..[Read Judgment].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
