Shivani Thakur
Published on: May 20, 2022 at 17:15 IST
The Supreme Court granted further time to the Court-appointed ‘Technical Committee’, probing allegations of widespread and targeted surveillance of Politicians, Journalists, Activists, etc. using the Pegasus spyware, to submit its report to the overseeing Judge.
The bench comprising of CJI NV Ramana, Justice Surya Kant and Justice Hima Kohli stated that, “It has received an interim report from the Committee, which has tested 29 mobile devices suspected of malware infection”.
“They have examined 29 mobiles. They have developed their own software. They have also issued notices to agencies including government and journalists…It has prayed time for submitting its report. Now, it is under process. We will give them time,” CJI NV Ramana said.
The Bench has directed the Committee to expedite the examination of mobile devices, preferably in 4 weeks, and send a report to the overseeing Judge, former SC Judge Justice RV Raveendran.
The matter will be considered next in July, after the Court reopens.
The Court had in October last year constituted a Committee headed by retired SC Judge Justice RV Raveendran and had asked the committee to investigate the matter expeditiously.
Several Petitions were thereafter filed before the Top Court seeking an independent probe into the matter, However, the Top Court has expressed concern over the alleged incident, saying that no doubt, the allegations are serious, if the reports are true.
“Truth has to come out, that’s a different story. We don’t know whose names are there”, CJI Ramana said.