Pegasus probe panel submits interim report

Satya Prakash

New Delhi, February 21

Almost four months after the Supreme Court set up Justice (retd) RV Raveendran committee to “expeditiously” probe into the Pegasus snooping scandal, the panel has submitted an interim report into alleged snooping on journalists, activists and politicians using the Israeli spyware.

A three-judge Bench led by the Chief Justice of India will consider the report on February 23, when petitions seeking an independent probe into the scandal are scheduled to be taken up for hearing.

Noting that citizens need to be protected from violation of privacy, a Bench led by the CJI had, on October 27, set up an independent panel led by Justice Raveendran who was being assisted by former IPS officer Alok Joshi and Dr Sundeep Oberoi, chairman, Sub-committee in (International Organisation of Standardisation/International Electro-Technical Commission/Joint Technical Committee) in overseeing the work of a three-member technical committee.

The members of the technical committee are Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Professor (Cyber Security and Digital Forensics) and Dean, National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar; Dr Prabaharan P, Professor (School of Engineering); Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Amritapuri, Kerala; and Dr Ashwin Anil Gumaste, Institute Chair Associate Professor (Computer Science and Engineering), IIT, Bombay.

“The state can’t get a free pass every time the spectre of national security is raised,” the top court had said.