Pegasus row: Nothing wrong in using spyware against adverse elements, says SC
Amid controversy over alleged unauthorised use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for surveillance of politicians, journalists, activists and others, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said there was nothing wrong in using a spyware for security purposes even as it assured that individual apprehensions of privacy breach will be addressed.
“What is wrong if the country is using that spyware against adverse elements? To have spyware, nothing wrong… We cannot compromise and sacrifice the security of the nation. Private individuals, who have the right to privacy, will be protected under the Constitution,” a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh said.
Noting that the technical committee report should not be made a document for discussion on the streets, the Bench said it will have to examine to what extent it can be shared with individuals.
“Any report which touches upon the security and sovereignty of the country will not be touched. But individuals who want to know whether they are included, can be informed. Yes, individual apprehension must be addressed but it cannot be made a document for discussion on the streets,” it said, posting the matter for hearing on July 30.
The court’s comment came after senior advocate Dinesh Dwivedi submitted on behalf of some petitioners that the basic issue was if the government had Pegasus spyware and if it was being used.
“If they (Centre) have it, there is nothing to prevent them from using it continuously even today…,” Dwivedi submitted.
As Solicitor General Tushar Mehta asserted that terrorists can’t claim the right to privacy. Justice Kant clarified, “An individual (civilian) who has the right to privacy will be protected under the Constitution.”
On behalf of one of the petitioners, senior counsel Kapil Sibal said there is a US district court judgment. “WhatsApp itself has disclosed here. Not a third party. WhatsApp has said about the hacking,” he added.
Sibal urged the Bench to release the expert panel report to the affected individuals after redacting sensitive portions. He, however, said, the redacted portion should be given to the concerned individuals so they know.”
Senior counsel Shyam Divan, representing another petitioner, said the report should be disclosed without any redaction as India followed an “open court” system even as Mehta objected to his submission, saying portions affecting national security can’t be made public.
A Supreme Court-appointed committee — which probed into the Pegasus snooping scandal — had in 2022 concluded that the Israeli spyware was not found in the 29 mobile phones examined by it even as it detected some other malware in five of the phones.
“In five phones some malware was found but the technical committee says it can’t be said to be Pegasus,” it had said after perusing the report submitted to it in a sealed cover.
Headed by Justice (Retd) RV Raveendran, the panel had submitted the report to the top court in July 2022.
An international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware. It was also reported that phones of a former judge of the Supreme Court and its registrars were allegedly intercepted using the spyware.
Around 10 petitioners, including the Editors Guild of India and senior journalists N Ram and others, had moved the top court seeking an independent probe into the alleged snooping on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli firm NSO’s spyware Pegasus.
India