Apprehending arrest and coercive action, Maharashtra IPS officer Rashmi Shukla has moved Bombay High Court seeking urgent hearing of her plea. This is in connection with the FIR registered by Mumbai Police in the case of illegal phone tapping and the alleged leaking of sensitive documents related to police postings.
The application filed by advocate Sameer Nangre, who is representing Shukla, identifies her as the petitioner who is one of the senior most IPS officers of the 1988 cadre, who has been in the police service for more than 30 years, and the Additional Director General of South Zone CRPF Hyderabad. The petition states, “The petitioner begs to approach the honourable High Court for urgent relief of order of no coercive action by the respondents in the FIR No. 2 of 2021 registered by Cyber Crime Department Mumbai. The approach of the respondent state is to arm twist the petitioner by bogus and frivolous case.”
Previously, an FIR had been registered under the Official Secrets Act at the BKC cyber police station against unidentified persons for allegedly tapping phones illegally and leaking certain confidential documents, on a complaint filed by the State Intelligence Department. The FIR had also invoked Section 30 of the Indian Telegraph Act and Section 43(B) of the Information Technology Act.
The petition further says that Shukla, who exposed the nexus between ministers and politicians and other gross corruption involved in assigning postings to police officers, is being framed in a false case instead of being applauded or appreciated.
“This reveals the courage and integrity of the petitioner in performing her official duties and making her best endeavours to expose and eliminate corruption by bringing the guilty to book. Instead of applauding and appreciating the work of the petitioner, the “government authorities are involved in framing the petitioner in a false criminal case”, the plea alleges.
The application, filed on Monday before the registrar, seeks an urgent hearing on Tuesday, May 4, before the division bench of Justice SS Shinde and Manish Pitale.
In the past, on April 29, Shukla, following second summons issued to her by the Mumbai Police, had approached High Court in Hyderabad.
In her petition filed before the Telangana court, Shukla had said that the investigation of the case had been undertaken to harass her. She had further stated in her petition that she had apprehended arrest since the said issue against her was politically motivated. The matter has been listed for hearing on May 6.
The alleged tapping of phones had taken place when Shukla headed the Maharashtra intelligence department.
Former Maharashtra CM and current Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis had cited a letter purportedly written by Shukla to the then Director General of Police about alleged corruption in police transfers. Fadnavis had made these details public in March and alleged that the intercepts showed the corruption that former Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh indulged in while effecting police transfers. Her letter also had details of intercepted calls, leading to an uproar in the current state government led by the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which alleged that Shukla had tapped phones without permission.
Before registration of the FIR, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte had alleged in a report submitted to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray that it appeared that Shukla herself had leaked the confidential report to Devendra Fadnavis.