Telangana govt can tap phones: Ram Jethmalani

Hyderabad, July 30: The arguments in phone-tapping cases filed by AP government ended in Hyderabad High Court today and the judgement was reserved till 4 pm. Senior counsel and noted jurist Ram Jethmalani appeared for Telangana government. He argued that the Telangana government has a right to intercept phone calls. Jethmalani maintained that Vijayawada court cannot order the telcos to submit phone call data. He said that Telangana government tapped phones after the cash-for-vote scam surfaced in the state. Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor General Nagaraj said that phone calls should be intercepted after obtaining permission from the State and Union Home Secretaries and that too when there exists threat for national security. AP's counsel Venu Gopal stressed the need to honour the Supreme Court's verdict in the case.