The Supreme Court of India has agreed that it will hear the petition filed by the Director of Hindu Group of publications N Ram and founder of Asianet Sashi Kumar hear next week. In this petition, Ram and Kumar are seeking an inquiry into the Pegasus surveillance scandal.
“We will hear the matter next week,” CJI Ramana said.
The matter was mentioned by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal on Friday before Chief Justice of India NV Ramana who agreed to list the case next week. “The civil liberties of citizens, politicians belonging to opposition parties, journalists, and court staff have been put under surveillance. This is an issue which is making waves in India and the world over and requires an urgent hearing,” Sibal said.
Besides Ram and Kumar, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and advocate ML Sharma have also approached the top court seeking an inquiry into the scandal. NSO claims that Pegasus is sold only to “vetted governments” and not to private entities, though the company does not reveal which governments it sells the controversial product to.
Any authorized snooping, the petition pointed out, can be done in India only by following the procedures of lawful interceptions mandated by the laws under the provisions of Section 5(2) of Indian Telegraph Act 1885, Section 69 of the Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2000, Section 92 of CrPC and Rule 419(a) of the Indian Telegraph Rules.
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