High Court takes up former SIB chief Prabhakar Rao’s interim application requesting protection from arrest

Appearing for Prabhakar Rao, senior advocate T Niranjan Reddy requested the court to grant an interim order restraining his arrest, stating that he is willing to return to India within a week if such protection is granted

Hyderabad: Justice J Sreenivas Rao of the Telangana High Court on Tuesday took up for hearing an interim application filed by former SIB (Special Intelligence Bureau) chief T Prabhakar Rao in the sensational phone tapping case.

Prabhakar Rao, the main accused in the case, requested the court to grant an interim order restraining his arrest, stating that he is willing to return to India within a week if such protection is granted. The interim application was filed in the already pending anticipatory bail petition before the High Court.

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Appearing for the petitioner, Senior Advocate T Niranjan Reddy submitted that the Supreme Court had earlier granted interim protection from arrest to another accused in the same case to iNews MD Sravan Rao and directed him to appear before the investigating officer. He argued that Prabhakar Rao is also willing to cooperate with the investigation on similar terms.

On the other hand, senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, representing the State government, opposed the plea, pointing out that Prabhakar Rao’s passport has already been cancelled and that a Red Corner Notice has been issued against him by international agencies.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, Justice J Sreenivas Rao noted that the interim application filed by the petitioner had not yet been officially reflected in the court’s records. He adjourned the matter to April 25 for further hearing, stating that the interim plea would be considered once it is properly taken on record.