Pegasus snooping case hearing today in Supreme Court on interim inquiry report

A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana is likely to take up today, the interim inquiry report submitted by the three-member committee that was constituted by the apex court in the case pertaining to unauthorised surveillance using Pegasus software.

The three-member committee is headed by former Supreme Court Justice RV Raveendran. This is an interim report as some aspects of the case are yet to be analysed. The committee may seek more time to file the final report. The committee in a letter written on April 18, had directed police chiefs of all states to specify if they had procured the Israeli spyware.

Read | DNA Explainer: How a Saudi woman activist's iPhone revealed about Pegasus hacking

There have been allegations of widespread and targeted surveillance of politicians, journalists, activist among others using the Pegasus spyware. A Bench comprising CJI NV Raman and Justice Hima Kohli is considering the matter. The Committee constituted by the court had already submitted an interim report in the case. 

The court was expected to consider the report on February 23. However the hearing was deferred on the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's request citing that he was engaged in a part-heard matter.

What is the Pegasus row

The Pegasus controversy erupted on July 18 after several international publications published reports about the mobile numbers which were potential targets of the spyware service given by NSO company to various governments, including India.

An investigations revealed that the Pegasus spyware was used on ministers, opposition leaders, political strategists, journalists, activists, minority leaders, Supreme Court judges, religious leaders, and heads of the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The project was a collaborative investigative journalism initiative undertaken by 17 media organisations. The allegations of snooping had prevented Parliament from functioning normally. Opposition and activists had attacked the government from all quarters.

Several petitions were thereafter filed before the Supreme Court seeking an independent probe into the matter. The apex court has expressed concern over the alleged incident, saying that no doubt, the allegations are serious, if the reports are true.