The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Telangana government to return the passport of former IB special director T Prabhakar Rao, accused in a case of alleged phone tapping and surveillance of several individuals including politicians, journalists, businessmen, and even some high court judges under the previous BRS regime.
A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and SC Sharma directed Rao to file an affidavit promising to return to India within three days of receiving his travel documents. Until then, the court said, no coercive steps should be taken against him.
Rao’s lawyer, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, told the court that client had left for the US before the FIR against him was registered. Naidu argued that the state declared Rao an absconder, revoked his passport, and issued a red-corner notice without giving him a chance to return to India and cooperate with the probe. “He (Rao) served the government for 30 years and is now being hounded.The moment the then Opposition, now ruling party, came to power, they went after him,” Naidu said. He also argued that without a valid passport, Rao couldn’t return even if he wanted to.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Telangana government, opposed Rao’s plea and urged the court not to grant him any relief. SG Mehta said Rao had travelled to the US to avoid being arrested. He had around a year’s time to return to India before his passport was revoked, SG Mehta argued. “He left the country the day the FIR was filed and preponed his travel date. He is a fugitive, and the law doesn’t allow anticipatory bail to someone declared an absconder,” Mehta argued.
{{/usCountry}}Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Telangana government, opposed Rao’s plea and urged the court not to grant him any relief. SG Mehta said Rao had travelled to the US to avoid being arrested. He had around a year’s time to return to India before his passport was revoked, SG Mehta argued. “He left the country the day the FIR was filed and preponed his travel date. He is a fugitive, and the law doesn’t allow anticipatory bail to someone declared an absconder,” Mehta argued.
{{/usCountry}}The Supreme Court, however, asked the state how on one hand, it had impounded Rao’s passport thus, preventing him from returning to India, and on the other, it was arguing that Rao had not returned and was a proclaimed offender.
“Give him the passport first. If he doesn’t come, we will deal with that then,” the court said while hearing the anticipatory bail petition filed by Rao.
It made it clear that its order only allowed Rao to return to India and did not comment on the merits of the case.
Last month, the court gave similar protection to a media house owner, Aruvela Shravan Kumar, another accused in the same case, so he could travel from the US and join the investigation.