Today, on 16th January, The Supreme Court extended interim protection to former Telangana SIB chief T. Prabhakar Rao in the phone-tapping probe until March 10, observing custodial interrogation was already permitted and questioning the State’s insistence on continued incarceration without further justification.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has decided that the interim protection granted to former Telangana Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) chief T. Prabhakar Rao, who is being investigated in a phone-tapping case, will remain in effect until March 10.
A bench consisting of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan remarked to the state,
“We granted custodial interrogation; now the purpose is served. Now what more remains… you just want to keep him in jail…”.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the Telangana government, argued before the bench that an individual declared an absconder could not file for anticipatory bail. The bench scheduled no further hearings on the matter until March, during which time the interim protection will be maintained.
In December 2025, the Supreme Court had previously extended Rao’s police custody until December 25 in relation to the alleged phone-tapping case, while also instructing that no coercive action be taken against him until the next hearing. Justices B.V. Nagarathna and R. Mahadevan had further ordered his release from custody after interrogation on December 26.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, along with Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra for the Telangana government, claimed that although Rao had surrendered as per the Court’s earlier directions, he was not cooperating with the ongoing investigation. The Solicitor General alleged that Rao conducted illegal surveillance on targeted individuals under the guise of tracking Marxist elements. He also noted that the former intelligence chief had not fully complied with previous court orders, including providing access to specific digital accounts.
Rao surrendered to the investigating officer at the Jubilee Hills police station in Hyderabad on December 12 around 11 a.m., in accordance with the Supreme Court’s directions. This surrender followed extensive proceedings in the Apex Court, where he had sought protection in the case. Previously, the Telangana government alleged that Rao was still withholding access to his iCloud accounts despite explicit court orders, which has become a crucial aspect of the prosecution’s argument regarding the alleged destruction and concealment of evidence.
This development marks a shift from the Court’s earlier position in October, where it had extended Rao’s interim protection and expressed concerns over reports of external interference during his interrogation. At that time, the bench had also instructed Rao to reset and share the password to his iCloud account in front of forensic experts, criticizing alleged irregularities in the investigation and obstruction of digital evidence collection.
The bench had cautioned that judicial processes should not devolve into spectacles, particularly regarding allegations of politicians and legislators being present during interrogations.
The earlier hearings were further complicated by the Solicitor General’s disclosure that crucial forensic material had emerged from digital platforms related to the case, leading the Court to postpone proceedings to allow the State government to present the newly discovered evidence. This forensic evidence, which reportedly includes critical data on the alleged illegal surveillance and interception activities, is central to the prosecution’s case against Rao and others involved in the operation.
The controversy at the core of this case dates back to mid 2024, when the Telangana High Court took suo motu notice of widespread allegations that during the term of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, the SIB under Rao had conducted extensive phone tapping of political rivals, journalists, dissidents, and even high court judges, constituting a serious breach of privacy and a matter of national security.
This phone-tapping case pertains to allegations of extensive illegal surveillance during the previous BRS administration. Since March 2024, four police officials, including a suspended Deputy Superintendent of Police of the SIB, have been arrested by the Hyderabad Police for allegedly erasing intelligence data from electronic devices and conducting unauthorized phone tapping. All four have since been granted bail.
Case Title: T. Prabhakar Rao v. The State of Telangana
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