On Friday, the Bombay high court Friday quashes two illegal phone tapping cases registered against senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Rashmi Shukla, a top contender for the post of the director general of police.

In the initial FIR filed in Mumbai, allegations were made against her for unlawfully intercepting the phone communications of Sanjay Raut, a prominent leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), and Eknath Khadse, a leader from the Nationalist Congress Party. Subsequently, in the second FIR registered in Pune, she faced accusations of illegally tapping into the phone conversations of Nana Patole, a notable leader within the Congress party.

A division bench comprising Justice AS Gadkari and Justice Sharmila Deshmukh issued an order following the statement from Advocate General Birendra Saraf. Saraf indicated that the state government had declined to grant sanction for the prosecution of Shukla, as mandated by Section 197 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Additionally, Saraf noted that the Pune police had submitted a closure report in court in January of the current year, and no opposing petition had been filed by the complainant in response to this report.

The court was considering two petitions filed by Shukla, seeking the quashing of the two cases. She argued that there had been a significant delay in registering the FIRs, and despite several other police personnel being involved in obtaining permissions for phone tapping and conducting surveillance, she was singled out, resulting in the registration of FIRs against her exclusively. In both instances, the high court had previously granted her protection from any coercive action.

On March 2, 2021, a case was filed at the Colaba police station in response to a complaint submitted by the then Additional Commissioner of Police (Special Branch), Rajiv Jain. In the complaint, it was alleged that she engaged in illegal phone tapping of the mobile phones belonging to Sanjay Raut and Eknath Khadse during her tenure as the head of the State Intelligence Department (SID).

The second FIR was lodged in Pune in February 2022, accusing her of abusing her authority while serving as the Commissioner of Police in Pune. The allegations pertained to the unlawful interception of phone calls involving Patole. Shukla had purportedly asserted that the mobile numbers belonged to an individual involved in narcotics-related activities.

Furthermore, Shukla, who is currently on Central deputation, faced another criminal case initiated by the Mumbai cyber police on March 26, 2021. This case stemmed from a complaint filed by an assistant commissioner at the State Intelligence Department (SID). The complaint alleged that Shukla had disclosed a classified report she had prepared in 2020 during her tenure as the SID commissioner. The report contained information about private individuals who acted as intermediaries, using their political connections, to facilitate transfers and secure preferred postings for senior police officers in exchange for monetary benefits.

During a press conference held on March 23, 2021, the then Leader of the Opposition, Devendra Fadnavis, asserted that the state government had not taken any action based on her report. Consequently, he announced his intention to submit documents, including a pen drive containing Shukla's report, to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.

However, on August 21, the Metropolitan Magistrate Court decided to close the case. The closure occurred because the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was unable to establish the origins of the documents, who had provided them to Fadnavis, and when this handover had occurred. This lack of clarity regarding the document transfer led to the case's closure.