Pegasus snooping scandal: SC postpones hearing to February 25

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 22

The Supreme Court on Tuesday postponed the hearing of the Pegasus snooping scandal case to February 25 in view of unavailability of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on February 23.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana directed the matter to be listed on February 25 instead of February 23 after Mehta said he would be busy in a part-heard matter on Wednesday.

Almost four months after the Supreme Court set up Justice RV Raveendran (retd) 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.

Noting that citizens need to be protected from violation of privacy, a Bench led by the CJI had on October 27 last year said the State can’t get a free pass every time the spectre of national security was raised.

Asking the panel to expeditiously probe the issue and submit a report to it, the Bench had ordered that the matter be listed for hearing after eight weeks. However, the case has not come up for hearing so far. Later, it had restrained the Justice MB Lokur Commission appointed by the West Bengal Government from going ahead with its proceedings.

An international media consortium had reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware. It was also reported that phones of a former judge of the Supreme Court and its registrars were allegedly intercepted using the spyware.

Around 10 petitioners, including the Editors Guild of India and senior journalists N Ram and others, had moved the top court seeking an independent probe into the alleged snooping on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli firm NSO’s spyware Pegasus.

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