The Supreme Court has dismissed the Telangana government’s petition challenging the quashing of the FIR against BRS MLA Harish Rao in the alleged phone tapping case. The top court said it cannot interfere with a reasoned High Court order without any fresh evidence.
In a big setback for the Congress government in Telangana, the Supreme Court of India on Monday dismissed the Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) filed by the State government in the alleged phone tapping case. The apex court gave major relief to BRS MLA and former Telangana minister T Harish Rao.
A Bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna refused to interfere with the earlier order passed by the Telangana High Court, which had quashed the FIR against Harish Rao and former Deputy Commissioner of Police Radhakishan Rao.
The Supreme Court agreed with the High Court’s findings and said that
“there was no basis to reopen the matter.”
The case relates to allegations of illegal phone tapping during the previous BRS government’s tenure in Telangana. In 2024, Siddipet-based real estate businessman Chakradhar Goud filed a complaint at the Panjagutta police station, claiming that his phone was illegally tapped. Based on this complaint, the police registered an FIR and began an investigation.
After the FIR was filed, Harish Rao approached the Telangana High Court, seeking to quash the case against him. On March 20 last year, the High Court carefully examined the allegations and the material placed before it.
The court concluded that there was no proof connecting Harish Rao to the alleged offence and ruled that
“there was no evidence linking him to the alleged offence.”
Not satisfied with the High Court’s decision, the complainant later challenged the order before the Supreme Court. However, the apex court dismissed that plea as well, effectively upholding the High Court’s decision in favour of Harish Rao.
Despite this clear position, the Telangana government again approached the Supreme Court on June 18 by filing fresh petitions. The State argued that the investigation was still “ongoing” and claimed that Harish Rao needed to be questioned further in connection with the phone tapping allegations.
Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared before the court on behalf of the State government and pressed for reopening the matter.
On Monday, the Supreme Court firmly rejected the State’s arguments. The Bench recalled that the Telangana High Court had already passed a detailed and reasoned order after examining all available materials.
The apex court noted that the High Court had clearly held that Harish Rao had no role in the alleged phone tapping case.
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The Supreme Court observed that it
“could not interfere with a reasoned High Court order in the absence of fresh evidence.”
With this decision, the Supreme Court has once again confirmed that there is no legal ground to proceed against Harish Rao in the phone tapping case. The ruling brings significant relief to the BRS leader and marks a major blow to the Congress-led Telangana government’s attempt to revive the case.
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