The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed former Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief in Telangana, T Prabhakar Rao, to submit the password of his iCloud account to the state police in the presence of forensic experts, in connection with the ongoing phone-tapping investigation.
A bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan also extended interim protection from coercive action to Rao, while instructing him to appear before the investigating officer and cooperate fully with the probe.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench that the investigation was being stalled due to Rao’s “non-cooperation”. He alleged that Rao had formatted electronic devices and wiped crucial evidence while under the court’s protective order.
“He was intercepting phones of important people, not just politicians. After filing of anticipatory bail application, he formatted the device. It is as good as a new device. It is not my surmise. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory says that,” Mehta told the court.
He further claimed that Rao likely had data backups, pointing to the purchase of 15 hard disks, but alleged that he was denying possession of any such material. “He is not cooperating because of the protective umbrella of this court’s interim protection,” Mehta submitted.
Senior advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for Rao, strongly rejected the allegations and said Rao was fully cooperating with the investigation. He argued that the case was politically motivated and complained that “outsiders, politicians, MPs and MLAs” were permitted to question him during interrogation.
Justice Nagarathna expressed disapproval of this claim, remarking, “It cannot be a ‘tamasha’. How can MPs and MLAs come in and interrogate? They cannot be spectators or part of the investigation.”
Mehta denied that any such interference by politicians had taken place. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 18.
Rao has challenged a Telangana High Court order that dismissed his anticipatory bail plea in the alleged phone-tapping case. On May 29, the Supreme Court granted him interim protection from coercive action and directed him to return to India within three days of receiving his passport.
Earlier, on May 22, a Hyderabad court had issued a proclamation order against him, warning that he could be declared a “proclaimed offender” if he failed to appear by June 20. If declared a proclaimed offender, the court can order attachment of his properties.
The case stems from allegations that senior SIB officials misused the agency’s resources during the previous BRS regime to conduct illegal surveillance on citizens from various walks of life. According to Hyderabad Police, several accused officers developed unauthorised profiles of individuals and monitored them clandestinely to benefit a political party, while conspiring to destroy records to cover up their actions.
A suspended DSP of SIB and three other police officials were arrested in March 2024 for allegedly erasing intelligence information from electronic devices and engaging in illegal phone tapping. They were later granted bail.
