Will the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe bring these crimes to light in a court of law, ensuring justice for the perpetrators? Will a CBI investigation, as demanded by the BJP, deliver justice?
Published Jun 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 28, 2025 | 9:00 AM
Former Telangana Chief Minsiter and BRS Supremo K Chandrashekar Rao
Synopsis: What is the true value of an individual’s privacy? To what extent are those in power accountable for corruption and lawlessness within the government? In today’s political landscape, where values and decorum have eroded compared to the past, we find ourselves in a deplorable state.
The unfolding telephone tapping scandal in Telangana is not merely a singular crime.
As the investigation progresses, the chilling reality that this is not an isolated act but a sinister chain of crimes – a grotesque assault on the very foundations of democracy – has started to emerge.
This orchestrated abuse of power by those entrusted with governance has violated laws with impunity, trampling over the sanctity of individual privacy.
The consequences are far-reaching: blackmail, intimidation, extortion, coercion, sexual harassment, violence, fraud, and the manipulation of records.
This is a cesspool of criminality – a brazen display of unchecked power where the ruling elite operated with a sense of absolute impunity, declaring, “Our will reigns supreme, and none can oppose us.”
Will the ongoing Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe bring these crimes to light in a court of law, ensuring justice for the perpetrators? Will a CBI investigation, as demanded by the BJP, deliver justice?
Neither is certain, given the troubling history of misuse of central investigative agencies. What, then, is the path forward?
A judicial inquiry led by a sitting judge.
Beyond the deliberate and deeply conspiratorial act of illegal surveillance, the intercepted conversations were exploited to perpetrate a cascade of subsequent crimes.
Some were premeditated, while others arose opportunistically – leveraging information stumbled upon during the tapping process to intimidate and manipulate individuals.
This led to a litany of further crimes. The practice began before the 2018 elections, used to undermine political opponents and secure undue advantages. Real estate tycoons were coerced into signing over properties.
Allegations have surfaced of sexual harassment, coerced agreements, and even sexual violence against film personalities, with the investigation uncovering evidence to substantiate these claims.
The SIT, issuing notices based on Call Detail Reports (CDR), is raising questions about the true scale of the surveillance. Over four thousand individuals are believed to have been affected, with notices issued across various sectors and statements recorded.
The process of obtaining periodic permissions for tapping was subverted, with the review committee, led by the state’s Chief Secretary, manipulated to approve the surveillance.
The Special Intelligence Bureau (SIB) task team reportedly included names of Maoist extremists on the first page or two of their requests, while subsequent pages listed their real targets.
A streamlined chain of command – from a “super boss” to the SIB head, and then to the task operations officer – ensured orders were executed with chilling efficiency.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) was also complicit, hoodwinked into enabling this operation. The result was a free-for-all of lawlessness.
What is the true value of an individual’s privacy? To what extent are those in power accountable for corruption and lawlessness within the government?
In today’s political landscape, where values and decorum have eroded compared to the past, we find ourselves in a deplorable state.
An incident from fifty years ago underscores this stark decline. During the tumultuous days of the Emergency imposed by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, when she faced fierce opposition, socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan was handed a bundle of 20–30 old letters by his close aides, Kumar Prashant and Janaki.
These letters, discovered while cleaning JP’s residence at Kadam Kuan, were written by Kamala Nehru, wife of Jawaharlal Nehru, to JP’s wife, Prabhavati.
JP, who had returned to India after seven years of education in the United States, imbued with Marxist ideals, had plunged into the freedom struggle in 1929–30, residing at Anand Bhavan.
During this time, Kamala Nehru and Prabhavati developed a close bond, exchanging intimate letters that revealed their innermost thoughts.
Upon reading one or two of these letters aloud, JP, grasping their deeply personal nature, instructed his aides to stop.
“I don’t want these falling into the wrong hands,” he said. “Let’s give them to Indira.”
Rejecting suggestions from his associates to donate the letters to a library or keep copies for themselves, JP insisted, “No, she will preserve them. We must trust her.”
He was resolute that the letters, in the volatile political climate of the time, should not be misused for personal attacks or criticism. He personally delivered the bundle to Indira Gandhi’s residence.
Expressing her gratitude, Indira, treating the matter with less urgency, asked JP for a favour – to tone down the criticism against her.
“My fight is against corruption,” JP replied. “Are you saying I am corrupt?” she retorted.
“Those leading the government must take responsibility,” he countered firmly. (Pages 42–43, How Prime Ministers Decide by Neerja Chowdhury)
Contrast this with the allegations in Telangana: over four thousand individuals – political rivals, party colleagues, KCR’s family members, judges, journalists, bureaucrats, film celebrities, businessmen, and industrialists – had their phones tapped.
Can those who led this regime, wielding power with reckless abandon, evade responsibility?
In 2018, the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench unequivocally declared privacy a fundamental right, safeguarded under Article 21 of the Constitution (Right to Life).
Citizens have the right to expect their personal conversations to remain confidential.
However, exceptions exist under the Indian Telegraph Act of 1885, allowing surveillance in specific circumstances – such as national security, sovereignty, or diplomatic concerns – provided reasonable grounds are established, requests are made, and permissions are documented in writing.
Every instance of tapping must comply strictly with legal provisions. Yet, in thousands of cases, the Telangana operation was blatantly illegal, unjust, and in violation of the law.
Will a thorough investigation expose this chain of crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable? Doubts persist, fuelled by mutual political accusations.
The BJP alleges that the Congress is soft on the BRS, which ruled Telangana for a decade, while the Congress counters that the BJP is colluding with the BRS.
The BJP questions the SIT’s impartiality, while the Congress doubts the credibility of a CBI probe, which the BJP demands. Reports suggest the central government may order a CBI inquiry independently.
Amid this, public sentiment leans toward a judicial inquiry led by a sitting High Court judge to ensure transparency and accountability.
As the tapping scandal unravels, revealing a web of conspiracies, schemes, and atrocities, a natural question arises: is the current government free of such practices?
Ministers, key leaders, and officials are reportedly wary of speaking freely on their phones, resorting to WhatsApp calls or changing devices weekly.
The public yearns for an end to illegal surveillance.
During the Janata Party government, Maneka Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s daughter-in-law, met JP to complain that the government was harassing her family and tapping their phones.
Surprised, JP’s aides later asked him, “Didn’t phones get tapped during Indira’s regime too?” JP’s response was pointed: “But now we have a democratic government, don’t we?”
In a self-proclaimed democracy, such violations are unacceptable. That’s all.
