New Delhi: Supreme Court hears petitions seeking a court-monitored investigation into the Pegasus Snoop Gate case. The top court said that there is no specific rebuttal by the Center in this issue, so we have no option but to accept the plea of the petitioner prima facie.
The bench hearing the matter also said that they have appointed an expert committee whose work will be looked into by the Supreme Court.
The SC said, “The committee has been constituted to investigate the lies in Pegasus row and find out the truth. The violation of right to privacy should be probed. There is serious concern about the involvement of foreign agency by Indians in the survey.”
A division bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana passed the order on a batch of arguments.
The top court further said that we live in the information age and we must recognize that while technology is important, it is important to protect the right to privacy not only for journalists but for all citizens.
The Supreme Court said that it has selected eminent experts to be part of a three-member committee that will examine the allegations leveled by the petitioners.
The court has constituted a three-member committee headed by former Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran. The other members will be Alok Joshi and Sandeep Oberoi.
The top court has directed the committee to thoroughly investigate the allegations and submit the report before the court and adjourn the hearing after 8 weeks.
Earlier, the Center had refused to file a detailed affidavit in the matter citing national security.
These arguments pertain to reports of government agencies allegedly spying on eminent citizens, politicians and writers using spyware Pegasus from the Israeli firm NSO.
.