The story so far: The Supreme Court will be hearing the case pertaining to the alleged use of the Pegasus spyware software later this month. Last year, a consortium of 17 journalistic organisations globally put forth a list alleging the use of the spyware by the Union government to snoop on several prominent individuals. The matter first reached the apex court on October 27 last year. Back then, the court constituted a committee, overseen by former Supreme Court judge Justice R.V Raveendran, to look into the charges and accordingly submit a report “expeditiously”.
What were the objectives of the committee?
The committee overseen by Justice R.V Raveendran was mandated to inquire, investigate and determine, among other things, if Pegasus was used to eavesdrop on phones and other devices of Indian citizens. Details were sought on whether the government had taken any action after reports emerged in 2019 about WhatsApp accounts being hacked by the same spyware and if the government had indeed acquired such a suite. The article had alleged that Pegasus was part of a $2 billion “package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear” between India and Israel after Narendra Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. It added that it was after this deal that India changed its historically pro-Palestine stance.
