A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has decided to form an expert committee to look into allegations of espionage by the central government on various people, allegedly using Israeli-based. Pegasus Software To spy on civilians.
Justice RV Raveendran, a former judge of the apex court, will oversee the committee and submit the report expeditiously, the bench also comprising Justices Surya Kant and Hema Kohli. The committee has been asked to prepare its report at the earliest. The EXART Committee consists of Alok Joshi, Dr. Sandeep Oberoi and three technical members – Naveen Kumar Choudhary, Dr. Prabhakaran and Dr. Ashwini Anil Gupte.
The bench said if the government had taken a clear stand in the court in the matter, it would not have been compelled to pass the order. “The Union of India has not specifically rebutted the allegations of Pegasus,” the bench remarked and said, citing the Center cannot get a free pass, citing the bug bears of national security. “It cannot simply be national security prompting Stonewall judicial review.”
The SC gave several reasons for the constitution of the committee:
Reports suggest that right to privacy and freedom of speech have been affected
Alleged espionage practice affects entire citizenry
The Union of India did not take a clear stand in the court
Surveillance reports and allegations taken seriously by other countries
There is a danger that spyware could be used by other countries for surveillance, affecting national security.
The bench posted the matter after eight weeks.
On 23 September, the court indicated its intention to form a committee to investigate the allegations. The CJI had said at that time that the court wanted to pass the order without any delay, but was temporarily stayed as some of the members elected to the committee were unavailable due to personal reasons.
The court on September 13, A. The matter was reserved under the leadership of Veteran journalist N. Ram and Shashi Kumar filed a petition, after the government expressed objections about the filing of a “detailed” affidavit to respond to the allegations. The Center had said it would be too public and would compromise national security.
The petitioners had sought an affidavit from the cabinet secretary or the court to form a committee headed by a sitting judge to probe the snooping controversy.
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