'Truth Has To Come Out': What Supreme Court Said On Pegasus Snooping Case

Days after Israeli-spyware Pegasus snooping case rocked the nation, the Supreme Court heard a clutch of petitions, including those filed by the Editors Guild of India. The court made it clear that ¡°truth has to come out¡± in the matter.

"Allegations are serious"

The Supreme Court said ¡°the allegations are serious if the media reports correct¡± as the media body sought a special probe into the Pegasus spyware scandal involving allegations that opposition leaders, journalists and others were targets of snooping,

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The court also asked the petitioners to serve the copies of the pleas seeking probe into the matter. A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana, is hearing the petitions. Justice Surya Kant is the second judge on the Bench.

The observation came in response to senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who is representing the petitioners, saying that Pegasus is a rogue technology that enters our lives without our knowledge and is an assault on the privacy, dignity and values of the Indian Republic.

What happened in court

CJI NV Ramana further asked why no one has filed a criminal complaint about illegal interception under the IT and the Telegraph Act in connection with the Pegasus row.

"We don't see that any of them have filed a complaint," the CJI said. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing on behalf of the petitioners told the court, "We have no direct access to the information. There are 37 verified cases of interception."

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The CJI also rapped petitioner ML Sharma for filing a petition against the Prime Minister, and other individual ministers. "Don't try to take advantage," the Court told Sharma.

The snooping row

The global media investigation involving several leading publications, including The Wire, has disclosed that 300 phones from India were on the list of potential targets on the leaked database of NSO, which supplies Israeli spyware Pegasus. It is not established, however, that all the phones were hacked.

Two petitions were filed in the Supreme Court on the same case, one by CPM MP John Brittas and the other by advocate ML Sharma. Following this, senior journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar had sought probe by a Special Investigation Team headed by a sitting of former judge into the snooping allegations.

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The Editors¡¯ Guild of India, in its petition filed two days ago, requested the Supreme Court to seek details from the government on the spyware contract and a list of those targeted.

The pleas, which were filed on July 27, seek a direction to the Centre to disclose if the government or any of its agencies obtained a license for Pegasus spyware and used it, either directly or indirectly, to conduct surveillance in any manner.