Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Friday, May 2, dismissed the anticipatory bail petition filed by T Prabhakar Rao, the former chief of the Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) and the prime accused in the high-profile phone tapping case.
Justice J Srinivas Rao, who presided over the matter, also rejected a related petition from Sandhya Convention MD S Sridhar Rao, who sought to be included as a respondent in the case.
During the hearing, senior counsel Siddharth Luthra and public prosecutor Palle Nageshwar Rao, representing the prosecution, argued that Prabhakar Rao has been evading investigation since the case was registered and that efforts are ongoing to bring him back, as he is currently absconding.
The prosecution emphasised that a non-bailable warrant has already been issued against him, and anticipatory bail should not be granted to someone on the run.
They further alleged that, under the previous government’s orders, surveillance was conducted on political leaders, private individuals, and even judges, with critical data-including information vital to national security-being destroyed after the elections.
The prosecution claimed that hard disks and computers were burned in December, contrary to the usual data destruction schedules, to eliminate evidence.
The court observed that the investigation is at a crucial stage and custodial interrogation of Prabhakar Rao is necessary to uncover details about who ordered the phone tapping.
Justice Srinivas Rao concluded that anticipatory bail could not be granted at this stage and dismissed Prabhakar Rao’s petition accordingly.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by P N Sree Harsha | 
