The State Home Department has exonerated a senior Kerala police officer who deviously obtained call details of a woman teacher and shared it with her husband who then circulated it among his friends and relatives. The order also cancelled a punishment meted out to him earlier - a cut in annual increment. The official was let off citing that he acted with 'good intention'.

The order quoted the official's explanation and said that his action saved a family. The department's shocking magnanimity towards an act that amounts to a grave intrusion of privacy and fraud has thrown up disturbing questions about data breach and misuse even by cops.

When Onmanorama contacted the woman, whose call details were illegally obtained and circulated, she said that she has not withdrawn the complaint. "I am seeking a divorce and his justification about protecting the family is unjustifiable," she said. She requested not be named for the article.

K Sudarshan, who was the ACP, Kozhikode in 2021, collected call details of the woman by sneaking in a request for call data, he had filed as investigating official in a gang rape case. Kozhikode city cyber cell furnished the data along with records required for probe into the gang rape. According to the order issued by the Home Department, Sudarshan forwarded the details to her husband, which were then widely circulated.

When her personal information was exposed, she filed a complaint with the Malappuram SP. The departmental probe proved that Sudarshan got hold of call records which were in no way related to the case he was investigating. The DGP then ordered an inquiry against Sudarshan after it became evident that his act accounted for misuse of official power and was unbecoming of a government official.

The probe confirmed the initial findings and the state police chief ordered that his annual increment shall be cut with retrospective effect. In his mercy petition, the official pointed out that he did not act with any ill-intention and was only trying to save a family which was headed to split. He further said in his petition that they lead a good family life and they don't hold any complaint against him.

In May 2025, Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department heard Sudarshan in person. Home Department Additional Secretary Beena P S issued an order exonerating him from all charges and also cancelled the previous order which called for cut in annual increment after taking into account his contention he obtained call records to save a family.

Writer and social activist V P Suhara questioned the officer’s act. “How can such an act be justified? What kind of protection is being offered to women here? This is a clear case of human rights violation. A woman’s privacy cannot be breached under any circumstances,” she said. Suhara added that even if the intention was to resolve family issues, there are lawful ways to do so. “Accessing call records without authorisation is not one of them. It is a common tactic used to target and harass women whenever something goes wrong,” she said.

Former Additional Director General of Police (DGP) A Hemachandran explained that officers may access CDRs only for lawful reasons. “It is the investigating officer’s discretion to decide whether the information is relevant to the case. Otherwise, it amounts to a violation of privacy,” he said.

Former DGP Jacob Punnoose offered a different view. “Accessing CDRs is a formal process and can be carried out during investigations. We don't know exactly what happened in this case. Perhaps Sudarshan obtained the CDR as part of an investigation. That is within procedure. However, officers are not permitted to share such data,” he said.

The order issued by the state government doesn't mention about any case being recorded for obtaining call detail records (CDR) illegally. Recently, the Karnataka High Court refused to quash a criminal case against a police sub-inspector accused of illegally obtaining the CDR of a woman.