New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday disfavoured public release of the report of the court-appointed panel, which was formed to look into the Pegasus snooping allegations.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N.K. Singh said the top court will not allow the disclosure of the details touching security and sovereignty of the country, but the part of the report relating to individuals can be disclosed.
It said, “Any report which touches upon the security and sovereignty of the country will not be disclosed. But individuals who want to know whether they are included can be informed.”
During the course of the hearing, the Justice Kant-led Bench remarked that there was “nothing wrong” with a country using spyware for its security purposes.
“What is wrong if the country is using spyware? Against whom it is used, it is the question. We cannot compromise and sacrifice the security of the nation. Private civil individuals, who have the right to privacy, will be obviously protected under the Constitution,” remarked the apex court.
It decided to defer hearing till July 30 after the petitioner’s side sought time to bring on record a judgment of a court in the United States (US) in a case filed by WhatsApp against Pegasus.
Pegasus spyware was developed by Israeli cyber-intelligence firm NSO Group for eavesdropping on mobile phones and harvesting their data. The spyware has been highly controversial, used to track politicians, government leaders, human rights activists, dissidents, and journalists.
In October 2021, a bench headed by then Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana appointed an expert committee to inquire, investigate, and determine whether the Pegasus spyware was used on Indian citizens, including journalists, activists and politicians, to access stored data.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, had refused to divulge details whether Pegasus was used or not, stating the information may affect the national security concerns of the country. However, the apex court said that its effort was to uphold the rule of law, without entering the “political thicket”, and added the alleged use of Pegasus on the citizens of the country was of “grave concern”.
In August 2022, the Pegasus panel, in its report submitted to the Supreme Court, said the presence of controversial Israeli spyware Pegasus was not conclusively established in 29 mobile phones examined, and also the Central government “has not cooperated” in the probe.
The top court-appointed panel said five out of 29 mobile phones were possibly infected with some malware, but that does not mean it was Pegasus spyware.
The panel, headed by retired Supreme Court judge R.V. Raveendran, had said the government has not fully cooperated while examining the phone for the malware.
The report consisted of three parts: report of the technical committee, digital images of phones examined for infection due to spyware, and the report of the overseeing judge, Justice Raveendran.
The then CJI Ramana-led Bench indicated that it may upload the report of Justice Raveendran, but the other parts of the report may not be made public. The report suggested that a country’s cybersecurity needs to be enhanced, and while protecting the privacy of the citizens, it is necessary to ensure that no unauthorised surveillance is allowed.
It pointed out that there are certain malwares which could be misused, they cause concerns to the security, and also violate the privacy of citizens.
The panel suggested that some mechanism should be put in place to check illegal surveillance, and the private firms involved in surveillance should be prosecuted.
–IANS
pds/dpb
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by BhaskarLive.in and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of BhaskarLive.in We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, BhaskarLive.in takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
