Bombay High Court grants interim protection from arrest to Rashmi Shukla in phone tapping case

Additional Public Prosecutor JP Yagnik opposed grant of interim protection from arrest; however, bench of Justices SS Shinde & NR Borkar noted that prima facie Shukla deserved protection.

NewsBharati    04-Mar-2022 17:53:32 PM
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Pune, March 4: The Bombay High Court granted interim protection from arrest till March 25 to senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla in an FIR pertaining to a phone tapping case. The FIR is in connection with alleged illegal phone tapping of state Congress president Nana Patole during period of BJP-led government in Maharashtra.

Rashmi Shukla
 
The FIR was registered against Shukla in Pune in February. Her lawyers, Mahesh Jethmalani & Gunjan Mangala stated that the "FIR is registered on a motivated complaint only with the intention to harass her".
Additional Public Prosecutor JP Yagnik opposed the grant of interim protection from arrest and sought some time to file a reply to the petition. However, bench of Justices SS Shinde and NR Borkar noted that prima facie Shukla deserved protection.
 
 
The bench observed that there is a delay in registration of FIR. Though other officers are involved in the process of obtaining sanctions, only Shukla's name is mentioned in the FIR. The court also stated that Shukla is a high ranking officer holding the post of Additional Director General of Central Reserve Police Force at Hyderabad. The Bench concluded that Shukla deserves protection forthwith, & proceeded to grant protection till March 25.

Shukla's plea stated that she was the Pune police commissioner between March 31, 2016 to August 3, 2018. With regards to an investigation she was informed by the senior police inspector Vaishali Chandgude of technical analysis wing that certain information regarding the operations of a narcotics syndicate in Pune city near various colleges had come to light. It was deemed suitable to conduct technical surveillance on the telephone numbers that were stated to belong to members of this narcotics ring.
 
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A proposal was put up by the senior police inspector seeking permission to put certain telephone numbers being used in the said narcotics racket under surveillance. This proposal was duly recommended by the concerned DCP and Additional CP Crime. After the requisite recommendation, the file was put up before her for recommendation in the capacity as Pune police commissioner.

"Taking cognizance of the gravity of the complaint and facilitate suitable investigation, she recommended seeking necessary permission from the sanctioning authority that is ACS Home," the plea read.
 
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The petition states Shukla had performed her procedural duty as police commissioner and enabled junior officers to conduct an investigation as merited and hence the allegation levelled against her is completely bogus.

Shukla had sought quashing of FIR and setting aside the investigation. She also sought that she should be given protection from any coercive action by Pune police.