The privilege accorded under sections 126 to 129 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 can only be waived by the client. Under section 126, a client is required to expressly consent to the waiver of privilege. This need not be in writing necessarily and could be inferred from the facts and circumstances of the case. Further, under section 128, if a client calls their attorney as a witness and, in the course of an examination, asks questions that specifically require disclosure of attorney-client privileged information, then such client is understood to have waived privilege.

Sections 126 to 129 do not contemplate limited waiver or sharing of attorney-client communications or work product among persons with a common interest without waiving protections. As per the language of section 126, a client may waive privilege entirely or not at all. However, where the disclosure is forced by a government authority (e.g., as a part of documents seized), such disclosure may be attempted to be made without waiving protections.

If a document has not passed directly between the legal adviser and the client, but is of such a nature as to make it quite clear that it was obtained confidentially for the purpose of being used in litigation and with a view to being submitted to legal advisers, then the court may not compel the production of such document (Vishnu Yeshawant Wagh v. New York Life Insurance Co.).

However, courts have held that for privilege to be claimed, the document or information should be confidential. Therefore, once a document has been obtained, it is imperative that it is kept confidential and not disclosed for any purposes except in the course of litigation or preparation for litigation. In Diljeet Titus and Ors. v. Alfred A Adebare and Ors., the court held that if an associate or advocate works for another advocate and their clients, they owe an obligation not only to maintain the confidentiality between the client and their advocate, but also not to surreptitiously take away what is the final product of the effort put in, to which they may also be a party.