Hyderabad: Former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T Prabhakar Rao, the prime accused in the high-profile illegal phone tapping case, has approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail.
Rao, who is currently abroad, urged the court to grant him relief so he could return to India and cooperate with the ongoing police investigation.
Rao is accused of fleeing country in March 2024
Rao is accused of fleeing the country in March 2024, immediately after an FIR was registered in connection with the case.
He is listed as Accused No. 1 in a politically sensitive investigation involving allegations of unauthorized surveillance and phone tapping of politicians and high court judges during the previous BRS government.
Appearing for Rao, senior advocate T Niranjan Reddy argued that the former intelligence chief’s return should be facilitated, not obstructed.
He contended that extraditing Rao through official channels would be time-consuming and costly for the state.
Phone tapping case: Prabhakar Rao’s bail plea adjourned for two weeks
Reddy maintained that Rao was not acting independently but operated under the supervision of an additional DGP, with all phone tapping decisions approved by a review committee headed by the chief secretary.
Despite this, none of the officials involved in the decision-making process have been named as accused, he added.
“He was made an accused not because he was the mastermind, but because police wanted someone to be held accountable,” Reddy told the court.
Reddy also highlighted Rao’s age (65) and his ongoing battle with cancer, drawing parallels to another accused in the case, Sravan, who was allowed by the Supreme Court to appear before police without being arrested. He argued the same consideration should apply to Rao.
State govt opposes bail plea
Opposing the bail plea, senior counsel Sidhartha Luthra, representing the state, questioned the veracity of Rao’s medical claims, pointing out there was no evidence of him seeking cancer treatment abroad until after the FIR was filed.
Luthra argued that Rao had been actively touring and conducting surveillance operations without health issues and accused him of evading the investigation by fleeing to the US. Despite assurances, Rao has not returned to India.
Luthra cautioned the court against considering Rao’s service record as a mitigating factor, referencing the case of Major General Shabeg Singh to emphasize that past service does not absolve one of serious allegations.
He stressed the gravity of the case, describing it as a “systematic invasion of privacy and harassment of innocent citizens,” and insisted Rao’s role could not be overlooked simply due to his previous service.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the Telangana High Court adjourned the matter to April 29 for further arguments.
Rao has also filed an interim application seeking protection from arrest, stating his willingness to cooperate with the investigation if allowed to return to India without fear of immediate detention
