The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Delhi High Court judgment that had upheld the GST Department’s search of advocate Puneet Batra’s cabin and held that advocate-client privilege could not operate as an absolute bar against investigation into an advocate’s own conduct.

A Bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu stayed the operation of the High Court ruling while hearing Batra’s challenge. The matter concerns the search conducted by the GST Department at the premises of Bass Legal LLP, during which the authorities seized documents and Batra’s computer containing potentially privileged communications relating to his clients.

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The Delhi High Court, in its September 18 judgment, had held that professional privilege protects the client and does not confer personal immunity upon an advocate where there is prima facie material indicating that the advocate himself may be involved in the conduct under investigation. It had also upheld the validity of the search under Section 67(2) of the CGST Act, while directing safeguards for examination of seized electronic data and protection of unrelated client information.