The functioning of the committee of three experts will be overseen by the retired Supreme Court judge Justice R.V. Raveendran.
Illustration: The Wire
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday, October 27, ordered an independent expert committee to be set up to investigate the revelations made in the Pegasus Project reports.
The committee will be overseen by the retired Supreme Court judge Justice R.V. Raveendran. LiveLaw has reported on the court’s observations and noted that the three members of the committee will comprise:
- Dr. Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics) and Dean, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat;
- Dr. Prabaharan P., Professor (School of Engineering), Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala; and
- Dr. Ashwin Anil Gumaste, Institute Chair Associate Professor (Computer Science and Engineering), Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Maharashtra.
The apex court has ordered the committee to submit its report after eight weeks.
As part of the Pegasus Project, The Wire, along with other international publications had reported extensively on a leaked database of phone numbers which could have been potentially snooped upon with the use of a spyware sold by Israel’s NSO Group. The group claimed it only has ‘vetted government’ clients.
In India, The Wire has revealed that those potentially and successfully spied upon include opposition politicians, activists, industrialists, lawyers and journalists.
A section of these journalists, lawyers, activists and politicians – including five targets confirmed by the Amnesty Lab, on whom the Pegasus software was used – moved Supreme Court with nine petitions in total, asking for a judicial probe into the matter.
Observations made by the court were significant and ascribed blame on the Union government for not willing to respond appropriately to the Supreme Court’s notice.
The Union government has notably dithered on filing a detailed affidavit on the matter, citing national security concerns.
“This court gave ample time to Centre to disclose all information regarding the pegasus attack since 2019. However only a limited affidavit was filed throwing no light.If the respondent Union of India had made their stand clear, it would have been help. However, the respondent Union of India declined to offer information. There was only a vague and omnibus denial of allegations by the Union,” the court said on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court also shed light on the implications of the reports on privacy, safety and personal freedom.
“This is also an important concern for the freedom of the press, which is a vital pillar of the democracy. Potential chilling effect on the freedom of speech will affect democracy,” the court noted.
As reported by The Wire, more than 40 journalists are on the list of potentially snooped upon phone numbers.
Despite calls from the opposition and civil society quarters, the Union government has not addressed the claims beyond IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s statement in parliament, on any form of illegal surveillance not being possible. Vaishnaw himself is on the list of potential victims of the spying operation.
More importantly, The Wire has highlighted how Vaishnaw had misled the Lok Sabha by saying that there was “no factual basis” to claim an earlier Pegasus attack. The minister had stated in the House that “In the past, similar claims were made regarding the use of Pegasus on WhatsApp, those reports had no factual basis and has been denied by all parties….
SOURCE ; THE WIRE
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