Phone tapping case: Ashok Gehlot’s OSD Lokesh Sharma skips Delhi Police summons

Sharma was asked by the Delhi Police to appear at its office on Friday in connection with the FIR lodged by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on March 25 this year, where Sharma is an accused. In his complaint, Singh had accused Sharma and others of criminal conspiracy and “unlawfully intercepting telegraphic signals (telephonic conversation)”.

Sharma is learnt to have told the Delhi Police that he is unable to travel out of Jaipur as his father is unwell and that he has been advised not to leave him. He has also said that he is available to respond to queries at a suitable time and if any information is required of him, police may send him a questionnaire.

Earlier, Sharma had been summoned by Delhi Police’s Crime Branch on July 24 and October 2 this year, but he had skipped the first one citing personal reasons. He had planned to go for the second summons but had to reportedly return while on the way owing to a “family emergency”.

Meanwhile, following the latest summons, Sharma also questioned Delhi Police’s “intentions” in the Delhi High Court on Friday. In the first two notices, he was summoned as a witness under Section 160 of the CrPC. This time, however, Delhi Police had cited Section 41A(4), which deals with an accused and if the said person “fails to comply with the terms of the notice or is unwilling to identify himself, the police officer may, subject to such orders as may have been passed by a competent court in this behalf, arrest him for the offence mentioned in the notice.”

On Friday, before the bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad, Sharma pointed out that the court had stayed any coercive action against him yet the Delhi Police has proceeded with the latest summons which warns of an arrest. The Delhi Police then assured the court that no action will be taken against Sharma until the court’s further orders. The next hearing in the case is on January 13.

Earlier, the Delhi Police Crime Branch had also issued summons to Congress Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi, asking him to appear before it on June 24. Joshi had termed it “political malice, unwarranted pressure” and had “challenged” Shekhawat to give his voice samples in the case. He skipped the summons citing several reasons, including the on-going case in the High Court.

Last year, the leak of audio tapes allegedly involving one Gajendra Singh, Sanjay Jain, as well as Congress MLAs Bhanwarlal Sharma and Vishvendra Singh had led to a political crisis in Rajasthan, with the then Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot leading a rebellion of 19 Congress MLAs. Of these, barring Vishvendra Singh, Joshi had named other three in his complaint with the ACB last year.

Following The Indian Express report in March which stated that the government had accepted phones were tapped during the political crisis last year, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal had, during a debate in the State Assembly, virtually accepted that the clips were shared by Sharma.

Defending the CM’s OSD, he had said, “If Lokesh Sharma gets something and forwards it on a WhatsApp group, what sin has he committed? Don’t you do it too? And why shouldn’t he send? You say he made it viral, why shouldn’t he make it viral? You say that Lokesh Sharma made the clippings. Give evidence.”

Days later, Shekhawat lodged an FIR against Sharma in Delhi.