The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected the petition filed by senior IPS officer Rashmi Shukla challenging the FIR lodged by Mumbai Police in March this year. The police had booked unidentified persons for allegedly tapping phones and leaking confidential documents on the State Intelligence Department complaint since such tapping was in violation of the Official Secrets Act 1923.
A division bench of Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Sarang Kotwal directed the Maharashtra government to give Shukla a seven-day notice in case of any coercive steps are to be taken against her.
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, appearing for Shukla, argued that by pinning the blame on Shukla, the state government was attempting to protect the present Chief Secretary of Maharashtra.
Jethmalani argued that Shukla had performed her duty as per the mandate of the law and the action by the Maharashtra government was an attempt to keep a gun against her head.
To this, the Mumbai Police responded that Shukla was not even named as an accused in the FIR in the alleged leak of confidential information about police postings in the state.
Maharashtra government counsel Senior Advocate Darius Khambata said even if Shukla had not been named in the FIR, there was substantial material against her and the probe against her should proceed. Shukla had requisitioned three pen drives which are vital in the probe and need to be thoroughly investigated.
The state government said it has been writing to the Union Home Ministry to hand over the pen drive in its possession to ascertain whether it is the same pen drive sought by the state to verify the leakage. The state counsel said the state believes the pen drive was given to the Home Ministry by Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Devendra Fadnavis.
Shukla stated in her plea that she had exposed an alleged nexus between ministers and politicians and other gross corruption involved in assigning postings to police officers. The FIR was registered at the BKC Cyber police station in Mumbai in March this year against unidentified persons.
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