Five journalists, who were reported to be on the potential list of alleged surveillance using Israeli Pegasus spyware, have moved the Supreme Court, ruing violation of their right to privacy and free speech.
The petition, filed jointly by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, SNM Abdi, Prem Shankar Jha, Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shataksi, has demanded an unequivocal statement from the Union Government on use of Pegasus spyware and adduce before the top court all documents relating to authorising its use and investigation conducted into the alleged surveillance.
The petition has requested the court to put in place a judicial oversight mechanism to deal with any complaints on illegal breaches of privacy by hacking and punish all government officials responsible for violations.
A bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, will on August 5 consider a clutch of three other petitions that have demanded a court-monitored investigation into the alleged snooping of Indian citizens using Pegasus and to identify the entities responsible for this. The fresh plea filed by the journalists is likely to be taken up along with these petitions.