Income Tax Raid on Lady Advocate is Breach of Right to Privacy: Gujarat High Court

 

The Gujarat High Court, on Monday, December 18, said that the privacy of an individual needs to be protected by investigating agencies while enquiring about any case against him or her.

The division bench of Justices Bhargav Karia and Niral Mehta observed while dealing with a plea challenging income tax (IT) raids on a lawyer.

The court also questioned the legal basis on which the Income Tax officers of the Ahmedabad Unit raided the house of the petitioner-advocate's associate, a female lawyer, in the early morning hours.

"How can you visit a lady advocate's house early morning and seize her and her family members' devices? Isn't this violating her privacy?" the court asked.

The court raised concerns about the legal justification for the raid, which took place in the early morning hours. The court also noted that the IT Department claimed the document they were looking for was "sensitive". 

The court also expressed concern over the manner in which the raid was conducted and objected to the seizure of third party-related documents from the lawyer's office.

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(With input from news agency language)
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