Pegasus case: Snooping charges serious if reports are true, says top court

Asks petitioners to serve pleas to govt; next hearing on August 10

The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday noted that the allegations of snooping through the use of Pegasus spyware were serious if the reports were indeed correct, even as former Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad reiterated that the surveillance and snooping allegations were baseless.

In a virtual press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party’s headquarters in New Delhi, the senior party leader said: “There is no prima facie evidence. Just before the onset of the parliamentary session, a campaign orchestrated by many of the elements hostile to the present government comes out.”

Meanwhile, the SC Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana and Justice Surya Kant asked the lawyers of the nine petitioners seeking a probe into the alleged snooping to serve copies of their petitions on the Government of India, legal news portal LiveLaw reported. 

“No doubt, the allegations are serious, if the reports are true,” said the CJI. 

According to the LiveLaw reports, the CJI continued to raise two issues; first, why the petitions were being filed now, when the reports about the use of Pegasus spyware had first surfaced in 2019. Two, why the FIRs were not filed by the people who were allegedly snooped upon, given that most of them are prominent politicians and journalists.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also told the Bench that Pegasus cannot be used unless it is purchased by the government or its agencies and the Centre has to answer why they have not taken any action or lodged FIR in the matter of alleged snooping. Sibal, appearing for veteran journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar, said that it is a matter of privacy and dignity and the government should answer why they have “kept quiet”.

LiveLaw reported that senior advocate Arvind Datar, who appeared for journalists Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shataski, who were on the Pegasus target list, said the provisions under the current law do not allow for filing of an FIR, and the court should treat this matter like a class action lawsuit. 

On the issue of why the petitions were filed now, Sibal said the extent of spying has become clear only after recent allegations. He further said individuals have no means to access material since Pegasus reportedly sells its services only to governments.

Meanwhile, Prasad said the Opposition has not presented any proof that the Pegasus spyware was used to tap phones that were alleged to have been targeted by recent revelations. “We are ready for a discussion in Parliament. When the minister made a statement on the issue, these people tore it in front of him. These people are not serious,” added Prasad.

The government has previously denied claims it had used spyware Pegasus to “compromise” the phone data of some persons.

The list includes senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, political strategist Prashant Kishor, and even the new information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The entire Opposition walked out last month after the minister’s statement, and both Houses of Parliament were adjourned. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the report was “by disruptors for obstructers”.

Vaishnaw, in his statement in Parliament earlier, said such levels of snooping by the government weren't possible. He added that the snooping allegation report appearing a day before the monsoon session was no coincidence. It had appeared earlier as well and had been refuted. India, he reiterated, had “robust” systems to prevent illegal surveillance.

In October 2019, WhatsApp had sued NSO Group Technologies, an Israeli technology firm that had developed and sold the Pegasus software that enables remote surveillance of smartphones. This software misused the Facebook-owned messaging platform to spy on 1,400 people globally, of which 121 were Indians, according to WhatsApp.

NSO Group has always maintained it sells its software only to governments. However, in July this year, fresh revelations came to light when hundreds of people in India and globally were reported to be on the list of targets of surveillance by Pegasus.