Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's erstwhile Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Lokesh Sharma, has renewed demands that investigating agencies summon and interrogate Gehlot in connection with the Rajasthan phone-tapping case — a controversy that first erupted during the state's 2020 political crisis. Sharma claims he has already furnished substantial evidence to the Crime Branch of Delhi Police and expressed surprise that no action has followed.

What Sharma Has Alleged

Sharma stated that he submitted a pen drive, a laptop, a mobile phone, and a seven-page statement to the Delhi Police Crime Branch in 2024, alleging the devices contained evidence supporting his claims. According to Sharma, the statement detailed events that allegedly unfolded on 16 July 2020 — at the peak of Rajasthan's political turmoil — when he claims the then Chief Minister personally handed him a pen drive containing recorded conversations and instructed him to circulate the audio clips among media organisations.

'I have submitted all evidence in support of my statement. Ashok Gehlot should now be called for interrogation,' Sharma said. He added that he was 'surprised that no action has been taken on those facts' despite the passage of considerable time since the submission.

Background: The 2020 Crisis and Its Fallout

The phone-tapping controversy is rooted in the Congress government's internal power struggle of 2020, when then Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot revolted against Gehlot's leadership alongside 18 MLAs, pushing the government to the brink of collapse. During the standoff, the Gehlot administration released audio clips purportedly exposing attempts to topple the government through alleged horse-trading. The release immediately triggered a counter-controversy: the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and leaders from the Pilot camp questioned how the state government had obtained those recordings.

Allegations of illegal phone interception of legislators and political figures followed swiftly, prompting the Union Home Ministry to seek a report from the Rajasthan government. Rajasthan Police at the time denied tapping the phones of any MLA or MP, dismissing the allegations as baseless.

Government's Assembly Response

The matter was raised in the Rajasthan Assembly by BJP MLA Kalicharan Saraf, who demanded full details of any phone-tapping orders. In a reply furnished in March 2021 — several months after the question was posed — the government confirmed that telephone interception had been carried out by Rajasthan Police under Section 5(2) of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, Section 419(A) of the Indian Telegraph (Amendment) Rules, 2007, and Section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, after approval from a competent officer.

The government, however, did not disclose the specific numbers intercepted or the duration of surveillance, stating only that 'all cases till November 2020 have been reviewed' by the Chief Secretary. Gehlot himself told the Assembly: 'Telephones are intercepted only under the provisions of these laws... The Govt. does not interfere in it at all.'

The Case Against Sharma and Subsequent Developments

Sharma was arrested in 2021 in connection with a phone-tapping case registered on the complaint of Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, and was subsequently granted anticipatory bail. In 2024, the issue resurfaced when Sharma publicly alleged that Gehlot had personally handed him an audio clip involving Shekhawat and Congress leaders for media dissemination — an allegation that carried considerable political weight given Sharma's proximity to Gehlot during the crisis.

Former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also weighed in, calling for a thorough investigation. In 2025, Pilot stated: 'Phone tapping is a serious crime, whether it happened now or in the past, it must be thoroughly investigated.'

Where the Case Stands Now

With Sharma again pressing for Gehlot's interrogation in June 2026, the phone-tapping controversy continues to shadow Rajasthan politics — keeping alive one of the most contested chapters of the Gehlot-Pilot era. Whether Delhi Police will act on the submitted evidence remains to be seen, and the case's trajectory is likely to carry political ramifications for the Congress in the state.