The Supreme Court has asked former Telangana intelligence officer T Prabhakar Rao to cooperate in the ongoing illegal phone tapping trial. The case involves surveillance of politicians, journalists, and even High Court judges during the BRS Government’s tenure.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked former Telangana intelligence officer T Prabhakar Rao to fully cooperate in the trial of the illegal phone tapping case, which took place during the rule of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) Government.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan was informed that Rao has not been cooperating with the trial proceedings.
It is important to note that earlier this year, the Supreme Court had granted him interim protection from any coercive action. The Court had also directed him to appear before the investigating officer.
Rao, who had been the Chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) in Telangana, had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Telangana High Court’s order that rejected his plea for anticipatory bail.
Back in June 2023, the Telangana High Court had started suo motu proceedings after a report in the Deccan Chronicle revealed shocking details of illegal phone tapping. The report alleged that not only opposition politicians but even sitting High Court judges, including Justice Sarath Khaja, were under surveillance.
The High Court raised deep concerns about the revelations and remarked —
“It’s a matter of great concern. As an institution, we are all troubled by it. This is not just a case of simple phone tapping; it infringes upon the Right to Privacy and is a matter of National Security.”
The entire controversy came to light in December 2023, after the Congress party won the Rajya Sabha elections and later formed the government in Telangana.
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According to investigation records, the main accused in this case is the then SIB Chief T Prabhakar Rao, who is alleged to have planned and overseen the illegal surveillance.
The case gained more strength after confession statements were made by co-accused officers, including Bhujanga Rao and others, who admitted that under Rao’s instructions, even the phones of High Court judges were tapped.
In March 2023, another major development took place when former SIB officer Dugyala Praneeth Rao was arrested on multiple charges, including illegal surveillance, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and misuse of government resources.
His arrest was based on a complaint filed by D Ramesh, Additional Superintendent of Police, SIB. The complaint accused Praneeth Rao of unlawfully breaking into protected computer systems, tampering with sensitive digital files, and misusing public money and resources.
According to media reports, Praneeth Rao had been preparing detailed “profiles of unknown persons” for surveillance purposes and had tapped the phones of opposition leaders, journalists, and others during the tenure of the BRS Government.
This large-scale phone tapping operation was allegedly carried out under the instructions of then SIB Chief T Prabhakar Rao and closely monitored by other senior officers, including Bhujanga Rao, Mekala Tirupathanna, D Praneeth Rao, and former Task Force DCP G Radha Krishan Rao.
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