If the allegations of espionage in the Pegasus controversy are true, the matter is serious: Supreme

(PTI) New Delhi, Dt

The issue of the Pegasus espionage controversy, which has rocked the opposition from parliament to the streets, was heard for the first time in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, after hearing the arguments of the petitioners, said that the allegations were very serious if the report was true. Kapil Sibal, on the other hand, took the matter seriously and requested the Chief Justice to issue a notice to the Center. Hearing the case, Chief Justice N.V. A bench of Justices Raman and Suryakanth asked Kapil Sibal if the matter was so serious, where were you for two years? And why is this issue just now?

The Supreme Court has now adjourned the hearing on the issue to Tuesday. A number of petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court on the issue of Pegasus espionage, seeking a SIT inquiry into the Pegasus espionage scandal under the supervision of the Supreme Court. In the Supreme Court, leaders, activists, editors guild of India and senior journalists n. Petitions have been filed by Ram and Shashi Kumar. The Supreme Court has asked all the applicants to provide a copy of their petitions to the Center.

Appearing before the apex court on behalf of the petitioner journalists, senior advocate Arvind Dutt said that the privacy of citizens should be considered in terms of absolute and personal privacy. Senior counsel Shyam Diwan from another petitioner said that the horror of the present case is too great and an independent inquiry into the case should be considered.

In the Supreme Court, Kapil Sibal argued that journalists, public figures, constitutional authorities, court officials, academics are all targeted by spyware. The government has to answer the question, who bought this spyware? Where was the hardware kept? Why the government has not registered an FIR? The chief justice said there was no doubt that the allegations were serious if the media report in the Pegasus controversy was true. On the Pegasus scandal, the chief justice said that there were reports of espionage in 2012 as well. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. The telegraph is the law for such complaints.

Kapil Sibal said the spyware is only sold to government agencies. The NSO company comes in the international arena. Pegasus is an evil or deceptive technique that enters our lives without our knowledge, an attack on the privacy, dignity and values ​​of our democracy. The petition filed by journalist Pranjay Guha Thakurat has requested the apex court to direct the Center to disclose all information related to the investigation into the controversy. He said in his petition that the presence of Pegasus would have a very adverse effect on freedom of expression in India. He urged the judiciary to declare the use of spyware or malware illegal and unconstitutional. Journalist Thakurat's name is also among the possible targets of Pegasus. A PIL states that this is military spyware and its use on civilians is unacceptable.