Compelling a lawyer to prejudice his or her own client, without the latter’s consent or knowledge, amounted to an “outrageous” infringement of the client’s constitutional right against self-incrimination under Article 20(3) of the Constitution.
The judgment recorded that lawyers were not at the beck-and-call of probe agencies. Their ability to protect their clients without fear was part of their fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) and Article 21 of the Constitution, coupled with the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961.
The court said lawyer client privilege was protected in Section 132 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) of 2023, which mandates that an advocate cannot be coerced into revealing any information with respect to the client he represents or the cause he is engaged to prosecute or defend.
IAS-2026 - OPTIONAL / GEOGRAPHY / PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION / SOCIOLOGY / ANTHROPOLOGY / ORIENTATION ON 03 & 04-10-2025 
