"Phone tapping" — these two words have once again created a buzz in Maharashtra politics. Sanjay Raut, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP, has alleged that the BJP, through central agencies, is tapping the phone of deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.
Raut has attributed this allegation to an unnamed MLA of the Shinde Sena with whom he had a conversation during a flight journey.
The allegations of phone interceptions by incumbent politicians are not new in Maharashtra. At the dawn of this century, Chhagan Bhujbal, then Home Minister of Maharashtra, faced similar allegations.
Sanjay Singh, the journalist credited with exposing the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, also known as the Telgi scam, has alleged in his book that certain unscrupulous cops of the Mumbai Police were intercepting his phone calls at the behest of their political masters.
Bhujbal’s name was embroiled in the controversy, and Singh alleged that his phone calls were intercepted to deter him from following up on the scam.
During the MVA tenure, when Uddhav Thackeray was the CM, a phone tapping scandal broke out. It was alleged that during Fadnavis’ first term as CM, the State Intelligence Department (SID) illegally tapped the phones of politicians like Sanjay Raut, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, and NCP leader Eknath Khadse, who were in the opposition then.
Raut’s phone was allegedly intercepted for a period of 60 days, whereas Khadse’s phone was under surveillance for 67 days.
The present DGP of Maharashtra, Rashmi Shukla, was the SID chief then. The allegations led to a huge uproar in Maharashtra, followed by criminal cases filed against Shukla. She was on the verge of getting arrested but went on central deputation. She returned to her parent cadre after the change of government and was made the state police chief during Eknath Shinde’s chief ministership. Subsequently, Shukla got a clean chit from the Bombay High Court in the cases registered against her.
The interception of telephonic conversations by governmental agencies in India is regulated by the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
Tapping someone’s phone is permitted only under specific circumstances, such as public emergencies, threats to national security or public safety, and to prevent incitement to commit an offense.
The interception has to be authorized by the Home Secretary of the relevant state or by the central government. Tapping phones to spy on political rivals is illegal and seen as a misuse of power. There is a provision for a three-year prison term if an officer is found guilty of illegal phone tapping.
The fresh allegations of phone tapping by Sanjay Raut come in the context of the alleged rift between Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde. However, leaders of both the BJP and the Shiv Sena have dismissed Raut’s claim. They see it as a ploy by Raut to create discontent among the constituents of the incumbent Mahayuti alliance.
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