Skip to main content

Pegasus Row: Supreme Court says allegations are serious if reports are true

Pegasus Row: Supreme Court says allegations are serious if reports are true


By - Divisha Srivastava*

The national media has been buzzing in recent days with news of Pegasus snoopgate that shows that hundreds of phone lines may have been followed, some of them hacked, using an Israeli spyware called Pegasus.

Snooping allegations using military-grade spyware Pegasus have made it impossible for Parliament to operate regularly. The administration has been attacked from all sides, with the opposition and activists disputing the government’s claim that its agencies have done no unlawful acts. 

Advocate M.L. Sharma had filed a PIL in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by an SIT appointed by the Supreme Court into the alleged use of Pegasus by the Central government to monitor the phones of activists, journalists, and politicians. 

Senior journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar had also filed a plea before the Supreme Court seeking a probe into reports on the alleged use of Pegasus spyware to spy on union ministers, opposition leaders, and 40 journalists among others by a sitting or former Supreme Court judge.

Also Read - Senior journalists N. Ram, Sashi Kumar move Supreme Court seeking probe into alleged use of Pegasus for mass surveillance.

The Editors Guild of India had also approached the Supreme Court, requesting that a special investigation team (SIT) investigate the central government’s participation in the Pegasus surveillance accusations. According to the Editors Guild petition, the alleged "indiscriminate deployment" of military-grade surveillance equipment is an exercise that "poisons the core of democracy."

Journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, whose phone was allegedly penetrated with Pegasus spyware, moved the Supreme Court seeking direction to the government to disclose data on “all investigation, authorisation and/or orders pertaining to the use of Pegasus on the petitioner”. In this case, three more journalists namely SNM Abdi, Prem Shankar Jha, and Rupesh Kumar Singh and activist Ipsa Shatakshi, are said to have approached the Supreme Court.

Also Read - Doctrine of 'No Work Should Go Unpaid' to be applied to all doctors operating under AYUSH and CHS: Supreme Court.

The central government denied the claims of snooping with the IT ministry in July, claiming that no "unauthorised surveillance" had taken place. The Israeli company that created Pegasus, NSO Group, claimed that their spyware was only for use by government agencies in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.

On August 5, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana heard a slew of Pegasus-related pleas filed by activists, lawyers, journalists, and politicians. They have sought an investigation into spying accusations made in Amnesty International's July report. The bench noted that the allegations are severe if the claims are correct and that the truth must be revealed. The bench has listed all the connected matters on August 10 for further hearing.

CLICK HERE TO READ ORDER.

*Divisha Srivastava is a 1st year student pursuing B.B.A.LL.B from S.N.D.T School of Law, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Patna High Court Declares Bihar’s Reservation Amendments Ultra Vires

  In a landmark decision, the Patna High Court has invalidated the Bihar government's legislative attempt to increase reservations for backward classes. The court's ruling focused on procedural flaws and the absence of a robust empirical basis for the hike, sparking a debate on judicial intervention in affirmative action policies. Background and Rationale Behind Setting Aside Bihar Reservation Increase Law The Bihar government had proposed an increase in reservations to address socio-economic disparities faced by backward classes. However, the court found that the state failed to follow due process, which includes conducting a thorough empirical study to justify the policy change. This procedural oversight led to the court's decision to strike down the increase. The High Court emphasized the necessity of a data-driven approach for policy changes related to reservations. The ruling underscored that without solid empirical evidence, such policies could not be justified within...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pune Porsche Crash: Father of Minor Granted Bail

Image Credit: tv9marathi A Pune court has granted bail to the minor’s father, Vishal Agarwal, who faced charges under the Juvenile Justice Act for neglect and endangering the child by allowing him to drive without a license and consume alcohol. Additionally, bar owners and managers were arrested for serving alcohol to minors. The father, already in custody for other related charges, was implicated in the alleged manipulation of his son’s blood samples and in a separate case of kidnapping his driver. Advocate Prashant Patil argued that Vishal Agarwal's arrest was unlawful, contending that the charges were non-cognizable offenses and required a notice under the Criminal Procedure Code. Mr. Patil also highlighted contradictions in police reports, where the minor was listed as the accused in one FIR and as a victim in another.  Also Read:  Delhi High Court Stays Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's Bail in Excise Policy Case Earlier Proceedings in the Pune Porsche Crash Inc...
Post a Comment
Read more

Counsel's failure to argue written submissions is not a ground of review: Bombay High Court

By - Sameeksha Negi* The Bombay High Court has observed that “If Counsel has not urged a point, the fact that there were written submissions is immaterial if those written submissions were never in fact argued.” The Bench also added that “Counsel’s failure to argue written submissions is not a ground of review or, I dare say, even appeal. It is no ground to assail any order of any judge of any court.”   The bench was hearing a review petition filed for seeking reinstatement of original arbitration petition on grounds some of which were never argued and others never pleaded and the said petition was filed after the original arbitration petition was fully argued, and then decided by pronouncement in open court. Also Read - The Pension Scheme for freedom fighters cannot be construed in a manner that the requirements prescribed are rendered a dead letter: Bombay HC According to Justice GS Patel allowing parties to take grounds in review pleas or in appeals that were not argued initi...
Post a Comment
Read more