More questions on Pegasus

India needs more transparent checks and balances

The government’s reluctance to file a simple affidavit in the Supreme Court about the deployment of Pegasus spyware will inevitably add to widespread suspicion that the fundamental right to privacy of ordinary citizens was violated by government surveillance. This case is yet another pointer to gaping holes in the legal system. One lacuna is, of course, the lack of a specific law to protect the private and personal data of citizens. Another is the opacity of the process of official surveillance: How it is ordered, on what grounds, by whom, against whom, and with what oversight. There are no answers