113 Phone tapping is allowed under the general provisions of Section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act, but only in "public emergency, or in the interest of public safety". In 1997, the Supreme Court, in response to a petition filed by justice Sachar, laid down five precepts for intercepting conversations-in the interests of national sovereignty and integrity, state security, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of an offence. "Tapping phones especially for tax evasion and corruption needs to be done only in the rarest of rare cases," says former ips officer-turned-lawyer Y.P. Singh. There are seven Central agencies authorised to tap telephones-the IB, ED, Delhi Police, CBI, DRI, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau and the Narcotics Control Bureau. "Phone tapping is a legal instrument. It should be kept in safe custody of the court or very few officers should have access to it. Leaking tapes are like leaking official secrets; it not only adversely affects an individual but is also harmful to investigations and the prosecution process," says Arun Bhagat, former director, IB. Often a hint of suspicion can put you under the scanner. Home ministry officials became suspicious of the flamboyant lifestyle of IAS officer Ravi Inder Singh. The bureaucrat shunned his official accommodation in favour of a plush guesthouse provided by his friend and co-accused Vinit Kumar. Singh's phones were kept under observation where he was heard referring to "Ukranian and Russian software", a code for prostitutes. Hotels were referred to as hardware and bribes were called laddoos. He was charged with giving clearance to a US-based telecom company, Telecordia, for mobile number portability. Dozens of other bureaucrats are believed to be under surveillance for similar reasons. But for every legal case, there are hundreds of illegal wire taps. Five years ago, a Mumbai newspaper publicised explicit phone conversations of actor Salman Khan. The Government claimed the