The Supreme Court will be hearing a petition filed by senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar seeking a judicial inquiry into the alleged surveillance of Indian citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware and to identify the entities responsible for this, in the following week.
As the journalists demanded an inquiry into the alleged snooping by a retired or sitting judge of the top court to ascertain the extent of surveillance on Indian citizens and identify the entities responsible for it.
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Kapil Sibal explains the seriousness of the matter before a bench, and all agree to look into this matter
And, talking about the petition before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “This matter has huge ramifications on civil liberties as it involves surveillance of opposition leaders, journalists, and activists. It is creating waves not just in India but abroad as well.”
The bench, also comprised of justice Surya Kant, agreed to Sibal’s request of taking up the matter in the upcoming week without specifying a date.
Mention about the petition and its function to deal with the sophisticated software
Pegasus, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, is an extremely sophisticated military software.
The petition also stated that the snooping allegations must be viewed with seriousness as they impact the right to privacy and free speech protected under Articles 21 and 19(1)(a).
Besides, the hacking of mobile phones using Pegasus spyware constitutes an offense punishable under various provisions of the Information Technology Act.
It also claimed that surveillance has been done by passing the legal regime provided under Section 5(2) of the Telegraph Act which provides that surveillance can be done on grounds of public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
