The Supreme Court on Friday extended interim protection from arrest to former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao in the phone-tapping case, while sharply criticising the state government for allegedly seeking to prolong his incarceration.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan, while hearing Rao’s anticipatory bail plea, said it appeared the state intended to keep him in jail “till he breaks down.”
“We have a feeling that you want him to be in jail till he breaks down. Now, we will not let you use our order (granting interim protection) beyond what it was meant for,” the bench told senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the Telangana government.
The bench expressed its inclination to make absolute the interim bail it had earlier granted to the former IPS officer. However, the state opposed the move and raised broader legal issues, including the permissibility of anticipatory bail to someone declared an absconder and allegedly residing overseas.
The Supreme Court had earlier, on December 11, invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to order Rao’s surrender and police custody for the purpose of investigation. Rao surrendered the next day at Jubilee Hills police station in Hyderabad.
His police custody was extended until December 25, and the court directed that he be released after interrogation on December 26, with no coercive action to follow until further orders. On Friday, the top court extended his interim protection till March 10, the next date of hearing.
The bench clarified that anticipatory bail did not grant Rao a free pass, and he remained obligated to cooperate with the investigation.
The Telangana government had earlier alleged that Rao was still withholding access to his iCloud accounts despite directions from the court. The state also challenged Rao’s entitlement to anticipatory bail, citing a proclamation order issued against him by a Hyderabad court on May 22, 2025, declaring him an absconder.
Rao moved the apex court after the Telangana High Court rejected his anticipatory bail plea.
The controversy stems from an alleged surveillance operation carried out during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government. Hyderabad Police have arrested at least four officials of the SIB, including a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police, since March 2024 in connection with the case.
According to police, the accused misused SIB resources for political purposes, placing citizens from various walks of life under illegal surveillance and creating unauthorised profiles. The case also involves allegations of deliberate destruction of digital records and evidence.
All four arrested officers have since been granted bail.
The Supreme Court’s ongoing scrutiny of the case now includes not only the merits of Rao’s bail application but also broader questions surrounding legal procedure, surveillance powers, and abuse of state intelligence mechanisms for political gain.
