SC asks Centre if it wanted to bring on record whether Pegasus spyware was used

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre if it wanted to bring on record whether Pegasus spyware was used to intercept phones of a cross-section of people in the country.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice N V Ramana noted that the Centre's affidavit of two-page, denying snooping charges and agreeing to form a panel of experts to examine all aspects of the matter, has not satisfied a group of petitioners seeking an independent probe.

"We will continue to hear the matter tomorrow. If you have a change of mind, let us know tomorrow (Tuesday). If you decide to file an affidavit, then we have nothing to say, else we will hear all of you," the bench said while adding that it cannot compel the Centre to file an affidavit if it is "reluctant" to do so.

Read | Pegasus row: Centre to form committee to look into snooping charges

In its affidavit, the Centre "unequivocally" denied before the court charges of snooping citizens, activists, politicians, members of the judiciary through Pegasus spyware but agreed to set up a committee of experts to "dispel wrong narrative raised by vested interests".

"With a view to dispel any wrong narrative spread by certain vested interests and with an object of examining the issues raised, the Union of India will constitute a committee of experts in the field which will go in to all aspects of the issue," the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

Responding to the court's query, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for Centre said that the issue involved aspects of national security and was not simple enough to be addressed through affidavits.

Mehta, for his part, asked if the petitioners will withdraw the petitions seeking an independent probe if the government filed an affidavit denying using Pegasus.

"We are dealing with a sensitive matter but an attempt is being made to make this sensational. This matter will have national security implications. This matter cannot be handled like furnish an affidavit etc. The Minister concerned has given details as how the Pegasus issue has been raging fire over the past few years. The placing of facts will involve national security issues," Mehta told the bench.

Mehta said if the court approved, a committee can be constituted of independent experts and not government officers, and terms of reference can be laid down by the court.

Appearing for petitioners, journalist N Ram and others, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Shyam Divan, Rakesh Dwivedi and others submitted that the Union government has evaded answering the question if it or any of its agencies has ever used the Pegasus spyware. They asked the court to direct the government to come clean on this issue.

Sibal said the government has to state on oath that they have never used Pegasus spyware.

"This affidavit does not answer the issues raised by the petitioners," Sibal said, adding that the government has made a sweeping denial of the petitions in generic terms.

Sibal said that the issue was not about individuals but about "institutions" and it is the judiciary and the media which protect democracy and both have been attacked by Pegasus.

"France has started a national level investigation through court procedures, Israel is also conducting enquiry but Indian government says all is fine. This is wholly unacceptable. Let the government state on oath that they used pegasus spyware, how it was used, and what deal contracts were entered into," he said.