Senior journalists N. Ram and Sashi Kumar have moved the Supreme Court to seek a probe into allegations of spying against numerous public figures in India using the Pegasus spyware, media reports said on Monday.
Ram and Kumar have requested the Supreme Court to institute an independent probe headed by a former or sitting apex court justice to inquire into the allegations of snooping.
"Such mass surveillance using a military-grade spyware abridges several fundamental rights and appears to represent an attempt to infiltrate, attack and destabilise independent institutions that act as critical pillars of our democratic set-up,” The Hindu quoted their petition as saying.
The petition pointed out that government ministries such as the ministry of home affairs and IT ministry had not "categorically ruled out obtaining Pegasus licences to conduct surveillance in their response, and have taken no steps to ensure a credible and independent investigation into these extremely serious allegations".
The petitioners pointed out "Surveillance/interception is justified only in cases of public emergency or in the interests of public safety, and the existence of such conditions must be inferred reasonably and cannot be determined solely on the assessment of the government… The hack/interception/decryption occasioned by the Pegasus spyware constitutes a criminal offence," The Hindu reported.
also read
- Mufaddal Saifuddin to remain spiritual head of Dawoodi Bohras. Succession row explained
- 'Was apology as big as your ads?': SC asks Ramdev, Balkrishna in Pathanjali case
- SC permits minor rape survivor to undergo medical termination of a 30-week pregnancy
- 'Don't try to bring down the system like this': SC pans EVM critics
The petitioners sought that the Supreme Court “direct the government to disclose whether it has obtained a license for the spyware or used it—directly or indirectly—to conduct surveillance of any kind”, NDTV reported.
