The Supreme Court of India has scheduled a hearing for April 22 to delve into the controversial Pegasus snooping case, which involves accusations of unauthorized surveillance on Indian politicians, activists, journalists, and business figures. The last substantive session on this matter was held in August 2022, highlighting the prolonged nature of the case.
Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh decided to defer the upcoming session as they addressed a petition by journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta. It was noted during proceedings that several related petitions were not listed alongside Thakurta’s, prompting a rescheduling to consolidate all related matters. Both Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Union government, and Senior Counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thakurta, agreed to the adjournment.
This case gained prominence following a 2021 expose by a consortium of media organizations, revealing that the Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, allegedly targeted around 50,000 phone numbers globally, including those of high-profile Indians like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and political strategist Prashant Kishor. The software is known for its capabilities to infiltrate mobile devices to monitor calls, messages, and even activate microphones and cameras without the user’s knowledge.
The Supreme Court intervened in October 2021 after public interest litigation was filed by advocate ML Sharma. The Court has been clear in its stance that national security concerns do not justify evading an investigation into serious privacy violations.
A Supreme Court-appointed expert committee presented its findings in August 2022 but could not definitively confirm the use of Pegasus, despite discovering traces of malware in some devices. The committee, which included experts from the National Forensic Sciences University, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, faced several extensions of deadlines before finalizing their report.
Significantly, the committee’s report underscored a lack of cooperation from the Union government and suggested the enactment of new laws and safeguards to prevent unlawful surveillance and cyber intrusions. Justice RV Raveendran, a former Supreme Court judge, also contributed a separate analysis, with portions of the findings kept confidential due to sensitive information.
