Shivani Pandey –
Published on: August 16, 2021 13:08 IST
The Centre on Monday presented a 2-page affidavit in the Supreme Court “indisputably” denying all allegations levied against the Government regarding the use of military-grade spyware to keep an eye on Politicians, Activists, Journalists and Court Staff.
“The Public Interest Litigations led by N Ram had made allegations on the basis of Conjectures and other unsubstantiated media reports or other unjustified statements and such materials cannot be the basis for filing PILs”, the Solicitor General stated.
The matter was being heard by A Bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana, Justice Suryakant and Justice Anirudh Bose.
On August 10, the Apex Court had taken exception to ‘aligned proceedings and debates’ on Social Media by a handful of Petitioners who had sought Independent Investigation into the alleged Pegasus Inquiry Issue.
The Centre informed the Court that they will set up a Committee to look into the issue.
An International Media association had recently reported that around 300 verified Indian mobile numbers were potential targets for surveillance using an Isareli firm’s Pegasus Spyware.
The leaked database of the Israeli firm included the names of opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, two Union Ministers, Railway and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, a former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Chief, Businessman Anil Ambani and not less than 40 Journalists as potential targets. However, it was not established that all the phones were hacked.
Also Read: The Pegasus Controversy: It’s Implications in India