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17. Per contra, Mr. Raju, learned ASG, states that a bare perusal of the FIR and Prosecution Complaint will disclose that under the garb of study of cyber vulnerabilities at NSE, a criminal conspiracy was entered into for telephone tapping without any authorization as required under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. The phone calls of employees of NSE were illegally intercepted without their consent or knowledge. The comparison by petitioner of call centres is misleading since there is a due disclosure in call centres and consent is taken prior to monitoring and recording of calls which is absent in this case.

34. I have gone through the Status Report dated 14.09.2022 filed by CBI in the quashing petitions viz., CRL. M.C 3763/2022 and CRL. M.C 3766/2022 wherein under para 8.1 it is stated that M/s ISEC illegally intercepted the phone calls of employees of NSE by installing illegal machines which act is in contravention of provisions of the Telegraph Act. I am prima facie in agreement with the acts being violative of the Telegraph Act, however, the offences under the Telegraph Act are not scheduled offences under PMLA.