Cos must work harder now to protect secrets

SC judgment narrows the scope of legal privilege for in-house counsels

- Krishna Yadav [e-mail]

Companies will now need to rethink sharing confidential information with their legal teams, after the Supreme Court ruled that counsels on a company’s payroll cannot claim client-attorney privilege when investigative agencies come calling.

The top court’s 31 October clarification in the Indian Evidence Act will fundamentally reshape how corporates handle internal legal communications, lawyers told Mint.

According to them, the judgment narrows the scope of legal privilege for in-house counsels, leaving them vulnerable to questioning by probe agencies, a protection that practising advocates continue to enjoy.

“This judgment may prompt a major rethinking in companies sharing sensitive information, which they want to be treated as privileged communication,” said Somdutta Bhattacharyya, partner at law firm Argus Partners.