Supreme Court sets up an inquiry committee into Pegasus (a Spyware) hacking case

New Delhi – The Supreme Court has constituted a three-member committee to probe allegations of spying on the telephones of important persons using a computer system called Pegasus. Former Supreme Court Judge R.V. Rabindran will be the head of this committee. Alok Joshi and Sandeep Oberoi will be the members.

Pegasus Snoopgate: Supreme Court Appoints Expert Inquiry Committee https://t.co/Kn3kVHmG2h

— Bestnews24x7 (@Bestnews_24x7) October 27, 2021

At the time of the hearing, Chief Justice N.V. Ramana said,

We want to ensure the rule of law. We have always protected fundamental rights. Everyone wants to secure privacy. The right to privacy has some limitations, but in such cases, action should be taken legally.

A Supreme Court Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana has decided to form an expert committee to look into the allegations of snooping by Union government on various people allegedly by using Israeli-based Pegasus software to spy on citizens BE ALERT#Pegasus pic.twitter.com/3ZA2nscnHt

— Aniket Kadam (@MeenaKadam7) October 27, 2021

We are living in the age of information technology. It should be used in the public interest. Freedom of the press is an important aspect of democracy.  We must recognise that while technology is a useful tool for improving the lives of the people, at the same time, it can also be used to breach that sacred private space of an individual

We want to know the truth. We have given the Government ample opportunity to respond. “We cannot answer because of national security,” the Government said. ‘Tell as much as you can’, we told the Government; but the Government did not respond. Because of this, the Court cannot remain just a mute spectator.

The Government has not made any special rebuttals. Therefore, there is no option but to take the petition of the petitioner at first sight.