Hyderabad, March 20 In a big relief to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former minister T. Harish Rao, the Telangana High Court on Thursday quashed the phone tapping case registered against him.
Justice K. Lakhsman quashed the First Information Report (FIR) registered against Harish Rao at Punjagutta Police Station in Hyderabad in December last year.
On a complaint by G. Chakradhar Goud, a real estate businessman and a leader of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the police had registered a case under relevant sections of criminal conspiracy, extortion, criminal breach of trust, Criminal intimidation and section 66 of Information Technology Act against Harish Rao, former police officer Radha Kishan Rao and others.
The complainant, who had contested unsuccessfully against Harish Rao from the Siddipet Assembly constituency in 2023, alleged harassment, threats, and unlawful phone surveillance.
Goud stated in his complaint that Harish Rao developed a grudge against him due to his charitable activities, including financial support to families of farmers who had committed suicide. The complainant alleged threats, fabricated cases, and unauthorised surveillance of his phone by Harish Rao and associates.
Harish Rao, who is the nephew of BRS president and former chief minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had filed a petition in the High Court seeking orders to quash the FIR.
During the hearing on the petition, the state government had urged the court to take strict action against Harish Rao for using the state intelligence machinery to crush his political adversaries by tapping phones.
Appearing on behalf of the state government, senior Supreme Court lawyer Sidhartha Luthra had argued that a minister should act like a protector but Harish Rao behaved like a predator.
However, Harish Rao's counsel Seshadri Naidu had argued that none of the sections of law such as criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and extortion were applicable.
The former minister's counsel also told the court that several criminal cases were pending against Chakradhar.
The phone-tapping allegations under the previous government of BRS came to light in March last year with the arrest of Deputy Superintendent of Police Praneeth Rao following a complaint from his superior, D. Ramesh, Additional SP with the Special Intelligence Branch (SIB).
Then chief of SIB, Prabhakar Rao had allegedly constituted a team within SIB with his trusted aides including Praneeth Rao for surveillance of rival political leaders, their families and dissidents within the ruling party, businessmen, journalists and even judges.
The police have so far named six accused in the cases. Praneeth Rao, Additional SPs Thirupathanna and Bhujanga Rao and former DCP P. Radha Kishan Rao are in judicial custody. Main accused Prabhakar Rao and Shravan Kumar Rao, MD of a media outlet, are still in the United States.
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