New Delhi, Nov 12 (PTI) Delhi Police Friday told the Delhi High Court that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's officer on special duty (OSD) cannot stall the investigation in an alleged phone tapping case on account of an order safeguarding him from any coercive action.

Counsel for Delhi Police opposed the OSD's plea seeking early hearing on his challenge to the FIR in the case contending that there was "no urgency" to hear his plea as a June 3 order passed by the high court has clearly granted him protection from arrest.

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“He can't stall the investigation in the garb of the order,” the lawyer for the Delhi Police said.

Senior counsel for Lokesh Sharma (OSD) told Justice Subramonium Prasad that despite the order, his client apprehended arrest in the case and clarified that he would join the investigation.

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“We will join the investigation,” he said.

In view of the Delhi police's stand that the earlier order required no clarification concerning protection from coercive action, the court said it will hear the case on January 13, as fixed earlier, and also issued notice on the Rajasthan government's plea to place it on record certain documents in a sealed cover.

On June 3, the court had asked the Delhi Police not to take any coercive steps against the OSD in an alleged phone tapping case.

It had also issued notices and sought the response of the Delhi government, State of Rajasthan, and complainant Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on the OSD's plea to quash the FIR against him by the Delhi Police.

Earlier this month, the crime branch of Delhi Police had summoned the OSD for questioning after he failed to appear on earlier two occasions citing personal reasons.

The court was told that the notice, which asked him to appear before the police on November 12, had stated that failure to attend or comply with the terms of the notice can render him liable for arrest.

The Delhi Police had in March this year registered an FIR in connection with the alleged phone tapping case in Rajasthan based on a complaint filed by Shekhawat, who is the Union Jal Shakti minister, against Sharma and others for the commission of alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and unlawfully intercepting telegraphic signals (telephonic conversation).

Sharma, in his petition, has said that the FIR pertained to the broadcast of certain audio conversations allegedly between Shekhawat and other persons about "using corrupt and illegal means to topple" the Congress government in Rajasthan last year.

He has claimed that the FIR arises out of a purely motivated complaint and is entirely mala fide and an abuse of process and it is being used as a tool of political vendetta to pressurise him to settle a political score.

"The impugned FIR is a counterblast to FIRs that were lodged in July 2020 in Rajasthan, wherein cases against the Respondent No. 2 (Shekhawat) and others are being investigated on allegations of using corrupt means to try and topple a democratically elected government," the plea alleged.

The plea has said it was reported in the media in July last year that a complaint was also filed before a Jaipur court against Sharma and others on the issue of the leaked audio clips and the same was pending inquiry under the provisions of CrPC and urged that either the Delhi FIR be quashed or be handed over to the state of Rajasthan as a 'Zero' FIR where the entire cause of action arises.

It also sought a stay on the investigation of FIR lodged by the Delhi Police.

The phone-tapping controversy had erupted in July last year in Rajasthan during a political crisis due to the rebellion of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs against Gehlot's leadership following which audio clips purportedly having a telephonic conversation between Shekhawat and Congress leaders had surfaced. Congress leaders of Gehlot's camp had then alleged that the BJP leaders were involved in horse-trading to topple the state government.

Shekhawat is a BJP MP from Rajasthan''s Jodhpur.

According to the FIR, Shekhawat has alleged in his complaint that on July 17, 2020, various prominent media houses and news channels had aired some telephonic conversations, allegedly between him, a man named Sanjay Jain, and Bhanwar Lal Sharma, a member of Rajasthan Legislative Assembly.

It was further alleged that the telephonic conversations were allegedly leaked to the media houses and news channels by Lokesh Sharma, OSD to the Rajasthan chief minister.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)