Telangana Phone Tapping Case | State Says Ex-Intelligence Chief Destroyed Digital Evidence, Urges Supreme Court To Cancel Interim Protection

The State of Telangana on Monday submitted before the Supreme Court that former Telangana intelligence officer T Prabhakar Rao, prime accused in the Telangana phone tapping case, wiped his iPhones and an official laptop while enjoying interim protection from arrest.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the State, said this amounted to destruction of digital evidence even as proceedings were pending in the High Court and the Supreme Court.“The report of FSL says that he formatted on 5th of April'25. Well, this is the date on which his anticipatory bail was pending before the High Court. So he destructs the evidence pending before the High Court. Something serious, more serious happens. This Hon'ble Court gives the interim protection on 29th of May'25. He formats the phone on 15th July'25, during the pendency of petition before this Court and during the pendency of your Lordship's and my Ladyship's protection that he should not be arrested. This is the seriousness”, he submitted.A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan Sharma was hearing the State's interlocutory application seeking to vacate the interim protection granted to Rao on May 29, 2025. Rao is accused of tapping phones of politicians and High Court judges in the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi-led Government in Telangana. He has challenged the Telangana High Court's order refusing him anticipatory bail.SG Mehta submitted that Rao submitted three iPhones and one official MacBook Pro laptop to the investigating agency on June 19, 2025, after the Supreme Court's protection order. He said that a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report dated August 29, 2025, revealed the devices had been factory reset before submission. According to him, the devices were formatted on April 5, 2025, when his anticipatory bail plea was pending before the High Court, on June 10, 2025, while his petition was pending in the Supreme Court, and on July 15, 2025, after the interim protection order. “This is a case where he was tapping numbers of judges and other politicians,” Mehta said.Mehta stated that Rao, who served as Chief of Operations in SIB after retirement, allegedly intercepted telephone numbers purportedly on the ground of left-wing extremism but was in fact recording phones of journalists, sitting judges and politicians. Justice Nagarathna noted that this case would not exist had the BRS party not lost the election. Mehta replied that the matter arose from a PIL before the High Court which ordered initiation, and not due to the change in government.Counsel for Rao denied the allegations of wiping data. “I have not destroyed anything. It is a complete lie. My whole interrogation was recorded by them. Kindly let them produce it before your Lordships,” he said.He also alleged that MLAs and MPs from the present regime were called up and made to sit before Rao and say that he had tapped their phones, and that he was questioned on that basis. Seeking two weeks to respond to the allegations, he said he would file a detailed reply so that the Court could evaluate his conduct.“They have called up MLAs and MPs of the present regime, asked them to sit before me and say that he is the one who tapped your phone you question him. My Lords could see that this is the level of animosity they have displayed”, he said.Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra for the state said the investigation had been “completely stymied” due to non-cooperation and factory resetting of devices. He said one of the devices was an official government laptop that Rao retained while overseas and produced only after his return. He added that Rao refused to provide the passwords of the Apple devices hampering investigation, and that he would have to clarify who had access to the devices when they were formatted.Mehta also pointed out that Rao fled the country on the day the investigation began and only returned after the Supreme Court granted him protection from arrest. He questioned how the petitioner could refuse to provide ID and passwords of a government device.After hearing the parties, the Court granted time to Rao to file objections to the IA for vacating his interim protection. The Court directed the petitioner to serve the counter affidavit to the State well in advance and listed the matter for October 8, 2025.On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court had directed the return of Rao's passport so that he could return to India, and ordered that no coercive steps be taken against him until further orders. This order came after the Telangana High Court had dismissed his plea for interim protection from arrest on May 3, 2025.Rao has argued that he left for the United States before being accused, and that the State had cancelled his passport and issued a red-corner notice against him. The Telangana Government has opposed his plea for anticipatory bail, contending that he is an absconder.Case no. – SLP(Crl) No. 7354/2025Case Title – T. Prabhakar Rao v. State of TelanganaClick Here To Read/Download Order

Telangana Phone Tapping Case | State Says Ex-Intelligence Chief Destroyed Digital Evidence, Urges Supreme Court To Cancel Interim Protection

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Telangana Phone Tapping Case | State Says Ex-Intelligence Chief Destroyed Digital Evidence, Urges Supreme Court To Cancel Interim Protection

Amisha Shrivastava

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