The Supreme Court on Thursday granted interim protection from coercive action to former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao, a key accused in the high-profile phone-tapping case that allegedly involved political misuse of state surveillance mechanisms.
A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma directed that Rao’s passport be returned to him and instructed him to appear before the investigating officer. The court also mandated that Rao furnish an undertaking to return to India within three days of receiving his passport.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and senior advocate Sidharth Luthra appeared for the State and strongly opposed the plea, which sought anticipatory bail for Rao. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on August 5.
Rao had moved the apex court challenging a Telangana High Court order which had dismissed his anticipatory bail application in connection with the phone-tapping case.
Earlier, on May 22, a Hyderabad court had issued a proclamation order against Rao, warning that he may be declared a “proclaimed offender” if he failed to appear before the court by June 20. If declared a proclaimed offender, Rao’s properties could be subjected to attachment proceedings under the Criminal Procedure Code.
The case, currently under investigation by Hyderabad Police, involves a broader conspiracy during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) regime. Several senior officers of the SIB, including a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police, were arrested earlier this year for allegedly erasing intelligence data from electronic devices and conducting unauthorized surveillance.
According to police, the accused officers are alleged to have profiled and monitored multiple individuals, including private citizens, journalists, and political opponents, using SIB resources. The surveillance, said to be politically motivated, allegedly aimed at benefiting a particular political party. The officials also face accusations of destroying key records to eliminate evidence of their actions.
With the apex court’s interim relief, Rao has temporarily avoided arrest, but the larger questions surrounding institutional misuse of intelligence infrastructure remain under judicial scrutiny.
