Hyderabad HC tells telecom firms to submit call data

The phone-tapping controversy between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana took yet another turn on Thursday with the Hyderabad High Court ordering the telecom service providers to hand over the call data to the Registrar of the court in a sealed cover.On a petition filed by the Telecom Service Providers Association challenging the orders of the Vijaywada lower court for handing over the call data for the investigations into the alleged tapping of phones of the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and other leaders by the Telangana Government, the High Court said that the telecom companies should submit the record in a sealed cover to the Vijayawada court and a messenger should bring it immediately to the High Court.

Senior criminal lawyer Ram Jethmalani, representing the Telangana Government argued that the Vijaywada court does not have jurisdiction to demand the call data. Another senior supreme court lawyer Venugopal representing the Andhra Pradesh Government said that the telecom will have to hand over the call data as they were also functioning in Andhra Padesh circle. The High Court fixed the next hearing of the case after four weeks.

The allegations of tapping of the phones rocked the two Telugu States after some TV channels telecast an alleged phone conversation between AP Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and a nominated member of Telangana Assembly in June. While the Telangana Government alleged that AP Chief Minister was trying to lure the MlA to vote for his TDP in legislative council elections, the AP Government alleged that Telangana Government had resorted to illegal and unconstitutional act of tapping the phones. 

Meanwhile Anti-Corruption Bureau, investigating the cash-for-vote scam has filed the first chargesheet in the case against Telugu Desam Party MlA A Revanth Reddy.