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Pegasus spyware row: Fresh plea in SC seeks probe into 2017 deal with Israel
The petition has been filed by advocate ML Sharma, one of the original petitioners in the case before the Supreme Court.
An advocate has filed a fresh petition in the Supreme Court seeking its cognisance of a report in the New York Times on the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus.
Coming close on the heels of the Budget Session of Parliament, the report has claimed India had bought the Pegasus snooping tool as part of a $2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017, triggering a major controversy with the Opposition accusing the Narendra Modi-led government of indulging in illegal spying that amounted to "treason". The Opposition has decided to raise the issue in the upcoming session starting Monday.
According to a PTI report, the plea has been filed by advocate ML Sharma, one of the original petitioners in the case before the top court. The petition said the deal was not approved by Parliament and, therefore, needs to be cancelled and money be recovered.
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He urged the top court to issue suitable directions for registering a criminal case and to investigate the impugned Pegasus spyware purchase deal and alleged misuse of public funds in the interest of justice.
The New York Times report said the Pegasus and a missile system were the "centrepieces" of a roughly $2 billion deal of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear between India and Israel in 2017.
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In its report titled 'The Battle for the World's Most Powerful Cyberweapon', the NYT said the Israeli firm NSO Group had for nearly a decade been "selling its surveillance software on a subscription basis to law-enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world, promising that it could do what no one else -- not a private company, not even a state intelligence service -- could do: consistently and reliably crack the encrypted communications of any iPhone or Android smartphone".
On October 27, last year, the top court had appointed a three-member panel of cyber experts to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for surveillance of certain people in India, saying the state cannot get a "free pass" every time the spectre of national security is raised and it cannot be the “bugbear” that the judiciary shies away from.
(With inputs from agencies)
