Recently, the Delhi High Court permitted conditional examination of seized electronic evidence in a case involving GST investigation of an advocate’s office, emphasizing protection of attorney-client privilege. The Court observed that while GST authorities may access the Petitioner’s computer, strict safeguards must be followed to prevent breach of confidential client information.
Brief Facts:
The petition was filed by Advocate Puneet Batra challenging a search conducted by the GST Department at his office and the offices of his family-run tax consultancy firm, M/s Bass Legal LLP, on 25th July, 2025. During the search, the GST authorities seized documents and a CPU from the Petitioner’s office, claiming involvement of the Petitioner in running the affairs of a client company, M/s Martkarma Technology Pvt. Ltd., an online gaming company. The Petitioner contended that he only represented the client as legal counsel and was not involved in its business operations.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The Petitioner’s counsel argued that the search and seizure were unlawful as they violated attorney-client privilege. Reliance was placed on a Supreme Court judgment in Madhyamam Broadcasting Limited vs Union of India, asserting that the Petitioner must be given access to all material relied upon by the GST Department to respond appropriately. The counsel suggested that a summary of the contents could be provided in a redacted form to allow submissions while preserving confidentiality.
Observations of the Court:
The Court noted that GST authorities are ordinarily not permitted to access the computer or files of an advocate without their presence, as it risks serious breach of confidentiality. However, the Court allowed the CPU to be examined under strict conditions. The examination must take place in the presence of the Petitioner, his legal representatives, two senior IT officials from the Delhi High Court, and a forensic expert on behalf of the GST Department.
The Court further outlined a step-by-step procedure for handling the data: identifying and copying files related to the client, cloning the hard drive, and ensuring that the CPU remains sealed after the process. Any analysis conducted by the GST Department must be documented in an affidavit, provided in redacted form to the Petitioner’s counsel, with the non-redacted version shown to the Court. The Court emphasized that no coercive measures shall be taken against the Petitioner in the meantime.
The Court also highlighted that the original file containing reasons for investigating the Petitioner would be returned to the GST Department, and material previously submitted in sealed cover would be re-sealed and kept in the Court Registry.
The decision of the Court:
The Court permitted conditional inspection of the Petitioner’s CPU by the GST Department, subject to safeguards ensuring attorney-client confidentiality. The inspection was scheduled for 11th and 12th September 2025, with fees for the Delhi High Court IT officials shared equally between the parties. The matter was listed for further hearing on 30th October 2025 to consider the legal issues arising from the inspection and investigation.
Case Title: Puneet Batra Vs. Union of India & Ors.
Case No.: W.P.(C) 11021/2025 & CM APPLs. 45387/2025 & 56648/2025
Coram: Justice Prathiba M. Singh, Justice Shail Jain
Advocate for Petitioner: Advs. N Hariharan, Sachin Puri, Kirti Uppal, Avi Singh, Neeraj Malhotra & Amit Chaddha, Sr. Advs., with Kunal Malhotra, Aman Sareen, Animesh Gaba, B C Pandey, Rajiv Taneja, Punya Rekha Angara, Vasundhara N., Aman Akhtar, Sana Singh, Vasundhara Raj Tyagi, Arjan Singh Mandla, Gauri Rama Chandra, Manish Dhankani, Ishan Parashar & Animesh Gaur
Advocate for Respondent: Advs. Rajesh Kumar, CGSPC with Abhishek Kumar Singh, Aditya Singla, SSC, CBIC with Ritwik Saha, Arya Suresh Nair, Akhil Sharma, Shreya Lamba, Raghav Bakshi & Sahil Prashar, Jyothiraditya, Additional Commissioner, CGST and Gajendra, Superintendent, CGST, Arunima Dwivedi, SSC, CBIC with Sainyam Bhardwaj, Arun Khatri, SSC with Anoushka Bhalla, Tracy Sebastian, Sahil Khurana & Akshay, T. Singhdev, Tanishq Srivastava, Abhijit Chakravarty, Yamini Singh
