The Telangana High Court has completed hearings on BRS MLA T. Harish Rao’s petition seeking dismissal of the phone tapping case. The court will announce its verdict later, with interim relief from arrest continuing.
HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Thursday completed hearings on a petition filed by former minister and Siddipet BRS MLA T. Harish Rao seeking the dismissal of a phone tapping case registered by the Panjagutta police. The case was filed based on a complaint by real estate businessman Chakradhar Goud.
The court stated that the verdict would be announced later. Until then, the interim relief order preventing Harish Rao’s arrest will remain in effect. Justice K. Lakshman issued these orders.
Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu and lawyer R. Chandrasekhar Reddy, representing Harish Rao, argued that the government appeared to be taking legal action on behalf of Chakradhar Goud. They alleged that the investigating officer was indiscriminately arresting individuals, creating fear, and coercing statements to falsely implicate Harish Rao. They also pointed out that Chakradhar Goud had 11 pending cases, including allegations of sexual assault.
The defense contended that it was the court’s role to determine whether these cases were legitimate, not the government’s. They further claimed that the prosecution was presenting contradictory arguments—on one hand stating that Chakradhar Goud had no assets in his election affidavits, while on the other hand alleging that he distributed funds through a trust. The defense requested the court to direct the Income Tax Department to investigate these claims and argued that the case was politically motivated.
On the other hand, the lawyer representing Chakradhar Goud countered that many of the previous cases against him had been dismissed by the courts, while some were under a stay order.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Lakshman announced that the verdict would be reserved. The court also stated that a petition filed by retired police officer Radhakishan Rao, the second accused in the case, would be heard on Friday.
