Bengal govt defends panel on Pegasus row in Supreme Court

The state said that the commission it constituted will “put into place effective countermeasures against any rogue foreign spyware”.

Calling the Union government “non-committal and evasive”, the West Bengal government has justified before the Supreme Court the setting up of a two-member Commission of Inquiry, headed by retired judge Madan B Lokur, to probe into the alleged surveillance of Indian citizens using Israeli Pegasus spyware. The state said that the commission it constituted will “put into place effective countermeasures against any rogue foreign spyware”.

The court, which had issued notices to the Centre and the West Bengal government, will hear the matter on Wednesday.

Submitting its affidavit in response to a petition by NGO Global Village Foundation Public Charitable Trust for disbanding the commission, the Mamata Banerjee-led government also questioned the motive behind the plea, claiming that the trustee and chairman of the NGO had close links with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its affiliate, Swadeshi Jagran Manch.

“It cannot be disputed that the RSS and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch and the ruling party at the Centre, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) are affiliates and have often vilified the state government for political gains,” stated the affidavit, contending that the petition is filed with the intent to obstruct any independent inquiry into the matter.

Imploring the court to dismiss the NGO’s petition citing its alleged association with the BJP and RSS, the West Bengal government underlined that “the higher echelons of the BJP have either publicly expressed their disapproval over the need for any independent inquiry on the ‘Pegasus’ issue or have been conspicuously silent on the subject matter despite massive public uproar.”

On August 18, a bench, headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, had agreed to examine the NGO’s petition, argued by advocate Saurabh Mishra who had also asked for an immediate stay on proceedings before justice Lokur’s commission to avoid any parallel inquiry. The court, which had issued notices to the Centre and the West Bengal government, will hear the matter on Wednesday.

Responding to the plea, the West Bengal government maintained that given the potential ramifications of the media reports on the fundamental right to privacy, independence of public institutions and the preservation of democracy, “the State Government could not sit as a silent spectator particularly when the Union Government was not only non-committal and evasive on the subject but had also at the very threshold dismissed the allegations under the rubric of sensationalism.”

The state said that while the intent behind the Commission of Inquiry was neither to have a parallel inquiry into the matter nor was it to overreach the proceedings pending before the top court in a clutch of petitions, the commission can coexist with the proceedings.

“The commission, being a fact-finding body cannot overreach the orders of this Hon’ble Court nor can it dilute them. This is precisely why an eminent retired judge of this Hon’ble Court and an eminent former Chief Justice of the Hon’ble Calcutta High Court comprise the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the state government,” said the affidavit. Former acting chief justice of the Calcutta high court Jyotirmay Bhattacharya is the other member of the commission.

The affidavit added that the Pegasus controversy is indeed a matter of public importance affecting public order and therefore, the state government had the jurisdiction to constitute the commission to restore public confidence in the people of West Bengal and to ensure that no unauthorised interception through a rogue foreign spyware can occur in the state.

The NGO, in its petition, has said the Pegasus controversy has cross-border ramifications with footprints in India, and hence must be dealt with from a national perspective. “Considering the seriousness of the issue and its implications on the citizenry of the country as well as its cross-border implications, the Pegasus controversy warrants an in-depth investigation. This cannot be carried out in a truncated and unconstitutional manner as is sought to be done by the West Bengal government,” it added.

The Supreme Court is already seized of a bunch of petitions filed by politicians, journalists and activists, demanding a court-monitored independent probe into the alleged surveillance using Pegasus. Responding to these petitions, the Union government has offered setting up an expert committee to look into the row while maintaining that a “false narrative” is being spun over the use of Pegasus. The Centre has, however, refused to disclose whether it used Pegasus for tracking individuals, citing concerns of national security and defence of the country.