Form of words:
New Delhi: The West Bengal government on Wednesday assured the Supreme Court that a two-member inquiry commission headed by Justice MB Lokur to probe the Pegasus hacking controversy would not proceed for hearing.
The promise was made orally by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, who expressed his disapproval with the formation of the commission at a time when the apex court was in a plethora of petitions seeking the court. Batch – supervised the investigation into the alleged espionage scandal.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the NGO Global Village Foundation Public Charitable Trust, the Supreme Court bench, of which Justice Surya Kant is also a member, told Singhvi: “If we are hearing other matters, we Some expect moderation. It (the commission of inquiry) will affect other matters (before the court).
The NGO has demanded the dissolution of the commission.
‘Nothing will happen’
Senior advocate Harish Salve and advocate Saurabh Mishra, appearing for the NGO, agreed with the bench’s suggestion to club the PIL with other PILs on the issue of Pegasus probe. However, he asked the bench to stay the proceedings before the inquiry commission.
In response, Singhvi objected to the stay petition, but did not object to the tagging of the PIL.
But the bench told them that “with fairness” it expects the state to wait till the other matters are heard.
When the bench indicated that it would stop the functioning of the panel except for tagging the PILs with pending PILs, Singhvi urged the judges not to issue any written order as “a word by Prabhu will create a splash. “
“Between now and next week, there will be no earth-shattering talk. Please don’t say anything, I will tell,” submitted Singhvi.
The senior counsel argued that the commission of inquiry was based on a statutory order. He claimed that the NGO petitioner had political affiliations with the BJP.
When he was about to read out excerpts from the state government’s affidavit filed in response to the PIL, the bench restrained him from saying: “Whether it (NGO) is right or wrong, it is not the issue here. The point is that this matter (the commission of inquiry) is related to other cases pending here. Our order will have pan-India effect. We want you to wait some time.”
The bench made it clear that if Singhvi is ready to make the promise, he will not give any written direction.
The senior counsel said he would apprise the commission of the court’s opinion and assured that “nothing will happen” until the batch of PILs on Pegasus are heard.
“I will say informally,” Singhvi told the bench, prompting the latter to say: “That is what we are asking you to do. We do not want to complicate the matter further.”
Making his brief presentation, Salve recalled senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s argument in other cases that if the alleged espionage was illegal, the central government has the right under the Constitution to conduct an investigation.
Senior journalist N. Sibal, appearing for Ram, on August 17 asked the court to direct the Center to clarify whether it had used Pegasus spyware or not and asked the government to constitute a committee of technical experts to look into the controversy. The proposal was also rejected.
Read also: Government used Pegasus or not? SC says Modi govt ‘doesn’t want to take a stand’
‘Can’t be a silent spectator’
In a written reply to the Public Interest Litigation, the Government of West Bengal Justified Before setting up a two-member inquiry panel before the top court, it said that the move was imminent, considering the possible impact of alleged espionage on the fundamental right to privacy and freedom of public institutions and protection of democracy.
“The state government cannot sit as a mute spectator, especially when the central government was not only non-committal and evasive on the subject, but also dismissed the allegations under sensationalism,” the affidavit said.
It refuted the contention that the commission was an attempt to conduct parallel inquiry into the matter and quash the proceedings before the SC.
“The Commission, being a fact-finding body cannot overrule nor dilute the orders of this Hon’ble Court. That is why a distinguished retired Judge of this Hon’ble Court and one of the Hon’ble High Court of Calcutta. The eminent former chief justice includes a commission of inquiry appointed by the state government,” the affidavit said.
Read also: Allegations in Pegasus case serious but ordering probe needs more than news reports, says SC
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs free, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay the price for maintaining this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.