privileged communication

Certain communications cannot be disclosed in court without consent, even if relevant. The main privileges in Indian evidence law are: communications between spouses during marriage; unpublished official records relating to affairs of State; communications made to a public officer in official confidence; and professional communications between a client and his advocate.

The advocate-client privilege belongs to the client, who alone can waive it. It does not protect communications made in furtherance of an illegal purpose or facts showing a crime or fraud committed after the engagement began. Privilege is about disclosure, not competence: the spouse or lawyer may still be a witness on other facts.

Example

The advocate could not be asked what his client told him about the accident, as it was a privileged communication.

In Indian law

• s.128 BSA (old s.122 Evidence Act): communications during marriage
• s.132 BSA (old s.126 Evidence Act): professional communications

See also

competent witness · compellable witness · legal ethics · absolute privilege

Read more in the study notes

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• The Mediation Act, 2023: scheme, enforcement and status (Alternative Dispute Resolution Systems)
• Banker and customer: who they are and the legal character of the relationship (Banking Law)
• Holder and holder in due course, parties to instruments, their liability and payment in due course (Banking Law)
• Processes to compel appearance and production of things (Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita)
• Relevance of judgments of courts (sections 34 to 38) (Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam)