IPS officer Rashmi Shukla told the Bombay High Court on Friday that she was made a scapegoat in the alleged leakage of phone calls regarding transfers of police officials.
A Division Bench of Justices S.S. Shinde and N.J. Jamadar was hearing a criminal petition filed by Ms. Shukla seeking to quash the FIR and charges against her under the Indian Telegraph Act and The Official Secrets Act. The FIR filed by an unidentified person has booked Ms. Shukla for leaking confidential documents related to corruption in police transfers in Maharashtra.
Senior advocate Mahesh Jethamalani, representing Ms. Shukla, contended that she was illegally transferred from the State Intelligence Department as Director General Civil Defence, a post that did not exist prior to her transfer. Mr. Jethamalani said, “I have not challenged that, but I am pointing this out to show mala fides. Ms. Shukla has not been paid since January. This is the treatment meted out to one of the most upright officers.”
Mr. Jethamalani said she was made a scapegoat for this alleged leakage. The whole reason for filing this FIR was to prevent transfer of documents from the State to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
He said the intercepted calls were about the transfer of 150 police officers of whom nine postings were being bargained through brokers. Mr. Jethamalani will continue his arguments on Saturday.
Letter by Fadnavis
The case dates back to March, when Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis in Maharashtra cited a letter allegedly written by Ms. Shukla to the then Maharashtra Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal about alleged corruption in police transfers. The letter is believed to have relied upon leaked conversations by Ms. Shukla.
Thereafter, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Sitaram Kunte, in a report to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, alleged that Ms. Shukla had leaked the confidential report to Mr. Fadnavis which led to the FIR.
