Bengaluru, May 30 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Telangana government to return the passport of former IB special director T Prabhakar Rao, accused in a case of alleged phone tapping and surveillance of several individuals including politicians, journalists, businessmen, and even some high court judges under the previous BRS regime.

A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and SC Sharma directed Rao to file an affidavit promising to return to India within three days of receiving his travel documents. Until then, the court said, no coercive steps should be taken against him.

Rao's lawyer, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, told the court that client had left for the US before the FIR against him was registered. Naidu argued tha...