The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday observed that there is “nothing wrong” if a country uses spyware for national security purposes, while making it clear that the technical panel’s report on the Pegasus surveillance allegations will not be made public in its entirety.
A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh was hearing a batch of petitions seeking an investigation into allegations that the Israeli spyware Pegasus had been used by Indian government agencies to surveil politicians, journalists, and activists. In 2021, the apex court had ordered an independent inquiry into the matter, setting up technical and supervisory committees to oversee the investigation.
During the proceedings, Justice Surya Kant remarked,
“What is wrong if the country is using the spyware? To have a spyware, there is nothing wrong. Against whom it is used is the question. We cannot compromise or sacrifice the security of the nation.”
The court further emphasised that reports touching upon matters of national security and sovereignty could not be disclosed publicly. It added that it would carefully consider to what extent the findings of the technical panel could be shared with the petitioners and other stakeholders.
The technical panel tasked with investigating the matter comprised cyber security experts Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Prabaharan P, and Ashwin Anil Gumaste. Their inquiry was supervised by a monitoring committee led by former Supreme Court judge, Justice RV Raveendran, assisted by former IPS officer Alok Joshi and cyber security specialist Sundeep Oberoi.
On August 25, 2022, the Supreme Court had noted that the technical panel found malware in five of the 29 mobile phones it examined. However, the panel could not conclusively establish that the detected malware was the Pegasus spyware developed by Israel’s NSO Group.
Reiterating its commitment to national security, the Court underlined that any investigative findings that could potentially jeopardise India’s security apparatus would be kept confidential.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for July 30, 2025.
