Gujarat snooping case: SC to hear suspended IAS officer Sharma’s plea in Dec

Seeking the court’s immediate intervention,Sharma’s counsel Prashant Bhushan told the bench,“A very important development has taken place recently after some tapes have come to light. Something very serious has happened and hence the court needs to list this matter urgently.”

Speaking to The Indian Express later,Bhushan said,“We will ask for an independent probe by the CBI or a special investigation team into the snooping controversy because it directly has a bearing on our case. A probe will establish that the state government had taken vindictive action against Sharma because he was aware of the woman and the snooping incident.”

He said “frivolous” cases were slapped on Sharma after he came to know about the woman and her association with the state government — the same woman purportedly referred to in the audio tapes. “We have always maintained that the state police was biased and hence the investigation needs to be transferred to an independent agency. An in-depth inquiry into the audio tapes will corroborate our stand,” he said.

While Bhushan insisted that the matter should be heard not later than the first week of December,Gujarat’s Additional Advocate General told the bench that it should be heard at length and sought a hearing in the second week.

The portals have claimed that the surveillance was conducted by the Gujarat ATS in 2009 on the instructions of Amit Shah,a close aide of Gujarat CM Narendra Modi,who was then minister of state for home. The tapes were reportedly submitted by suspended IPS officer G L Singhal.