Pegasus row: Supreme Court asks panel to expedite its probe
The committee, and a technical sub-committee, is carrying out a digital forensics analysis of devices suspected to have been targeted by a military grade spyware called Pegasus, which is reported to cost millions of dollars and its Israeli makers NSO Group have claimed they only serve government clients.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked the court-appointed panel to expedite its investigation into the Pegasus snooping row while extending the time till June 20 for submission of the final report in the matter.
The committee, and a technical sub-committee, is carrying out a digital forensics analysis of devices suspected to have been targeted by a military grade spyware called Pegasus, which is reported to cost millions of dollars and its Israeli makers NSO Group have claimed they only serve government clients.
“The technical committee has sought some time. We direct the technical committee to expedite examination of mobile devices etc and complete it preferably within four weeks and send report to overseeing judge. The oversight committee is requested to submit its final report in this court as soon as possible,” ordered a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana.
The bench, which included justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli, listed the case for hearing next in July, clarifying that it expects a comprehensive report from the panel, which is headed by former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran.
“First aspect of this matter is the issue of suspected malware and other technical issues etc. The second aspect is amendments in the existing laws of surveillance and cyber security. The first part is being done by the technical committee which will give its report to the overseeing judge. The overseeing judge and two other experts will then go through it and add their views and recommendations. So, a comprehensive report will come,” the bench remarked during the brief hearing.
Before adjourning the case, the bench also read out operative portions of the interim report received from the three-member expert committee.
“The first two pages of this interim report is on interaction of the technical committee. 29 mobile devices, suspected of being infected with spyware, were received by the technical committee. The devices were examined. The committee also recorded statements from some journalists, experts etc. Public consultation exercise is also being undertaken,” disclosed the bench.
It added that the technical committee has developed its own tools to examine the mobile devices and notices have been sent to some government officials.
“The results of the test by the technical committee are likely to be finalised by May 20. The overseeing judge will then take some time to go through technical committee recommendations. The overseeing judge will take another 15 days to finalise its report. Thus, more time is sought,” the bench told the lawyers present for the matter.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta appeared for the Union government while senior counsel Kapil Sibal, Shyam Divan, CU Singh and Rakesh Dwivedi, among others, were appearing for the bunch of petitions filed by lawyers, politicians, journalists and civil rights activists.
The bench, listing the pending issues to be finalised by the committee said: “We will give them time. We will list this sometime in July.”
At this point, Sibal and Singh requested the court to consider if the interim report of the committee could be made public. But SG Mehta opposed this plea: “Please, consider not doing so since it is an interim report.”
National Forensic Sciences University’s dean Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham’s professor Prabaharan P and IIT-Bombay professor Ashwin Anil Gumaste are the members of the technical committee. Under the court orders, former IPS officer Alok Joshi and cyber security expert Sundeep Oberoi assist justice Raveendran in overseeing the functioning of the technical committee.
The committee has to ascertain whether the Centre or any state government acquired Pegasus and used it on the phones or other devices of the citizens of the country to access stored data and other information. If the spyware was indeed used, the court said, the committee shall determine how and by whom such interceptions were authorised, and the details of the victims of spyware attack.
The Pegasus row erupted on July 18 after an international consortium of media outlets and investigative journalists reported that the phones of Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were among the 50,000 that were potentially targeted by Pegasus, Israeli company NSO Group’s phone hacking software. According to this consortium, Pegasus can switch on a target’s phone camera and microphone, as well as access data on the device, effectively turning the phone into a pocket spy.
In October 2021 when the top court set up the inquiry panel, it held that the Union government cannot get “a free pass every time” by raising the spectre of “national security” when the issues concern the “potential chilling effect” on right to privacy and freedom of speech.
It referred to the lack of a “specific denial” by the government and also its reluctance to file a “detailed affidavit”, adding that “in a democratic country governed by the rule of law, indiscriminate spying on individuals cannot be allowed except with sufficient statutory safeguards, by following the procedure established by law under the Constitution”.
