MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday quashed two FIRs registered in Pune and Mumbai against senior IPS officer and former state intel chief Rashmi Shukla in connection with alleged tapping of Opposition leaders’ phones during the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra.
The FIRs were filed against Shukla in February 25 and March 2 last year in Pune and Colaba, Mumbai invoking the offences under the Indian Telegraph Act. She was heading the department when it was the Fadnavis-led government in the state.
In the case of Mumbai FIR, the government did not grant sanction for Shukla's prosecution.
A division bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Sharmila Deshmukh quashed proceedings in the Pune FIR following a closure report filed by the police.
The closure report is pending before a magistrate court. But no protest petition has been filed against was her case argued by senior counsel Mahesh Jethmalani assisted by advocate Gunjan M.
Advocate General Birendra Saraf confirmed that the concerned authority, a principal secretary of the department had declined grant of prior prosecution sanction.
The State Intelligence Department (SID) data leak happened when the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) led by then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray was in power.
Earlier in December 2021 the HC had rejected Shukla’s plea to quash the case registered by Mumbai cyber cell against unknown persons over a “leak” of her confidential phone tap report into allegations of corruption in police transfers. It had also rejected her plea to transfer probe to CBI but directed that she should be given seven days’ prior notice before taking any coercive steps against her.
The reasoned order is awaited.
