News Analysis India

Tag: Pegasus spyware

  • Mamata says Bengal was offered controversial Pegasus spyware for Rs 25 crore, 4-5 years ago

    By PTI

    KOLKATA/AMARAVATI: A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee revealed that the controversial Pegasus spyware was offered to her government, she provided on Thursday more details, stating the state police was approached at least four to five years back with an offer to sell the controversial Israeli spyware for just Rs 25 crore.

    The chief minister said she had turned it down when she came to know of it.

    Banerjee also alleged that instead of using the spyware for the security of the country, it was used by the central government which she claimed purchased it, for “political” reasons against judges and officials.

    However, the Telugu Desam party denied assertions made by her on Wednesday that the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, had purchased the spyware during his tenure.

    “They (NSO, the company which developed Pegasus) had approached everybody to sell their ware. They had approached our police too, four-five years ago and offered to sell it for Rs 25 crore. I had the information, but I said that we did not require it,” Banerjee said at the state secretariat.

    “If it was used for the benefit of the country or for security reasons then it was a different matter altogether, but it has been used for political purposes, against judges, officers which is not at all welcomed,” she alleged.

    The Bengal chief minister had on Wednesday disclosed in the Assembly that her government was offered Pegasus spyware which she had declined as it had the potential to encroach upon people’s privacy.

    During her disclosure in the Assembly, the fiery leader had also claimed that the Andhra government “had it during Chandrababu (Naidu)’s time”.

    However, the Telegu Desam party denied the claim and said the Chandrababu Naidu government had made no such purchase.

    “We have never purchased any spyware. We never indulged in any illegal phone tapping,” Telugu Desam Party general secretary Nara Lokesh said here on Thursday.

    Reacting to Banerjee’s claim that the previous Chandrababu Naidu government purchased the Pegasus Spyware, Lokesh who was the then Minister for Information Technology in his father Chandrababu’s Cabinet, said, “I don’t know whether she has indeed said this, and where and in which context. If she did say this, she is certainly misinformed.”

    However, he said the software was offered to the state government. “Yes, Pegasus offered to sell its spyware to the AP government as well but we rejected it,” Lokesh said. Had the government purchased the spyware, there would be a record of it, he pointed out.

    An international media consortium had reported last year that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.

    A New York Times report earlier this year claiming India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017 had triggered a major controversy with the Opposition alleging that the government had indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to “treason”.

    The Supreme Court is currently hearing a batch of pleas on the allegations of misuse of this spyware in India.

  • NYT report on Pegasus reignites row; Opposition accuses government of snooping, calls it ‘treason’

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A New York Times report claiming India bought Pegasus spyware as part of a USD 2 billion defence deal with Israel in 2017 triggered a major controversy on Saturday with the Opposition alleging that the government indulged in illegal snooping that amounted to “treason”.

    The Opposition parties indicated that they would raise the issue strongly in the Budget Session of Parliament starting Monday, even as Union minister Gen (retd) V K Singh called The New York Times “Supari Media”.

    A government source said the matter related to the Pegasus software was being monitored by a committee under the Supreme Court — headed by retired Supreme Court judge R V Raveendran — and its report was awaited.

    Reacting to NYT’s report, Singh, Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways and Civil Aviation, said on Twitter: “Can you trust NYT?? They are known “Supari Media”.

    ” The Congress launched an all-out attack on the government over the report, accusing it of deceiving Parliament, duping the Supreme Court, hijacking democracy and indulging in treason.

    Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Twitter, “The Modi Government bought Pegasus to spy on our primary democratic institutions, politicians and public. Government functionaries, opposition leaders, armed forces, judiciary all were targeted by these phone tappings. This is treason.”

    “The Modi Government has committed treason,” he alleged.

    The Congress said it intends to raise the issue in the budget session and demand accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government on the floor of Parliament.

    The principal opposition party also urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and initiate appropriate penal proceedings against the government for attempting to “deliberately and knowingly deceive” it.

    Asked about the issue, Shashi Tharoor, senior Congress leader and chairman of the parliamentary panel on communications and information technology, told PTI, “The government has chosen not to be responsive to the IT Committee about Pegasus, and the stand taken by a number of BJP members – not to permit a quorum when the issue was to be discussed – has also meant that the Committee has made no headway in establishing the facts.”

    “The Supreme Court is pursuing the matter and I wish it well. If our government has used Pegasus in the manner alleged it would be a very grave threat to our democracy,” he said.

    In a tweet, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said, “The (Narendra) Modi government must explain on affidavit why it bought this cyber weapon, who gave the permission for its usage, how were the targets selected and who got these reports?” “Silence on such a critical issue only means an acceptance of its criminal activity,” he said.

    CPI general secretary D Raja alleged that the government hid the truth on the issue from Parliament and they were now answerable.

    In a tweet, Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi alleged the spyware was used not for defence purposes but to snoop on opposition and journalists.

    “If there is BJP, it is possible. They have made the country into a Bigg Boss show,” she said in a tweet in Hindi.

    BJP MP Subramanian Swamy suggested that “Modi government must rebut New York Times revelations today that It did indeed subscribe by payment from tax payers money of ? 300 crores to spyware Pegasus sold by Israeli NSO company.”

    “This implies prima facie our Govt misled Supreme Court and Parliament. Watergate?” he asked.

    Meanwhile, India’s former permanent representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin dismissed as “utter rubbish” the “insinuation” in the NYT report which cited India’s 2019 vote in support of Israel at the UN’s Economic and Social Council to highlight deepening of ties after a deal that included sale of Pegasus.

    Tagging a tweet on the NYT report, Akbaruddin, who held the post at the UN from 2016-2020, said, “The insinuation about India’s UN vote is utter rubbish”.

    Incidentally, India and Israel marked 30 years of diplomatic relations on Saturday.

    The media report said Pegasus and a missile system were the “centerpieces” of a roughly USD 2 billion deal of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear between India and Israel in 2017.

    The NYT, in its report titled ‘The Battle for the World’s Most Powerful Cyberweapon’, said that the Israeli firm NSO Group had for nearly a decade been “selling its surveillance software on a subscription basis to law-enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world, promising that it could do what no one else — not a private company, not even a state intelligence service — could do: consistently and reliably crack the encrypted communications of any iPhone or Android smartphone”.

    The report also referred to Modi’s visit to Israel in July 2017 – the first Indian prime minister to do so.

    “For decades, India had maintained a policy of what it called ‘commitment to the Palestinian cause’, and relations with Israel were frosty.

    The Modi visit, however, was notably cordial, complete with a carefully staged moment of him and (then Israeli) Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu walking together barefoot on a local beach,” it said.

    “They had reason for the warm feelings. Their countries had agreed on the sale of a package of sophisticated weapons and intelligence gear worth roughly USD 2 billion — with Pegasus and a missile system as the centerpieces.

    “Months later, Netanyahu made a rare state visit to India. And in June 2019, India voted in support of Israel at the UN’s Economic and Social Council to deny observer status to a Palestinian human rights organisation, a first for the nation,” the report said.

    Last year, a row had erupted over Pegasus allegedly being used for targeted surveillance in India.

    The government, however, had dismissed allegations of any kind of surveillance on its part on specific people.

    Last October, the Supreme Court set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised and that its mere invocation cannot render the judiciary a “mute spectator” and be the bugbear it shies away from.

    The NYT report said the FBI too had bought a version of Pegasus.

    It was around last summer that the FBI “decided not to deploy the NSO weapons.

    It was around this time that a consortium of news organisations called Forbidden Stories brought forward new revelations about NSO cyberweapons and their use against journalists and political dissidents.

    The Pegasus system currently lies dormant at the facility in New Jersey”.

    An international investigative consortium had claimed that many Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by the software.

    The report said that since 2011 when NSO “introduced” Pegasus to the global market, it had “helped Mexican authorities capture Joaquin Guzman Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo”.

    European investigators have quietly used Pegasus to thwart terrorist plots, fight organised crime and, in one case, take down a global child-abuse ring, identifying dozens of suspects in more than 40 countries, it said.

  • Pegasus spyware issue India’s internal matter: Israeli envoy

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Israel does not allow companies like NSO to sell their products to non-governmental actors, newly-appointed Israeli Ambassador to India Naor Gilon said on Thursday while describing the row over the alleged use of the firm’s spyware Pegasus in India as an internal matter of the country.

    His comments at a press conference came a day after the Supreme Court appointed a three-member committee to investigate the alleged use of Pegasus software to snoop on Indian citizens including journalists, activists and politicians.

    “I will not go into more details. NSA (Group) is a private Israeli company. Every export of NSO or such companies needs an export licence of the Israeli government. We grant this export licence only for exporting to governments,” he said.

    “This is the only main requirement. Under the requirements, they cannot sell it to non-governmental actors. What’s happening here in India is an internal thing for India and I would rather not go into your internal matters,” Gilon said.

    He was replying to questions over allegations of unauthorised surveillance using NSO Group’s spyware Pegasus and whether the Indian government contacted Israel over the issue.

    An international investigative consortium had claimed that many Indian ministers, politicians, activists, businessmen and journalists were potentially targeted by the NSO Group’s phone hacking software.

    The Supreme Court has set up a three-member independent expert panel to probe the alleged use of Pegasus for targeted surveillance in India, observing the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised.

    Asked about the new quadrilateral grouping comprising India, Israel, the US and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the envoy said it is focused on cooperation in areas of the economy, trade, infrastructure and technology among others and that there is “no military element” to it.

    When referred to India’s close ties with Iran and whether it will impact the cooperation under the grouping, he said it is to promote something positive and not to create something negative against anyone.

    “Our cooperation is to promote something positive, it is not to create something negative against someone else,” he said.

    “We are very much aware that India has its own interests when it comes to Afghanistan and Iran. I think that in discussions between countries, especially between friends, each country puts forward its own concerns and each country has its own interests, and then you see over time how it circles down, how it comes out,” the envoy said.

    At the same time, he said the biggest threat Israel has been facing is from Iran, alleging that the country has been a source of instability in the Gulf region.

    Gilon said Israel is keen to expand its cooperation with India in areas of economy and trade and said the proposed free trade agreement between the two sides is expected to increase the volume of economic engagement.

    He said the FTA is expected to be finalised by June next year.

    The envoy also said Israel is cooperating with Indian agencies probing the bombing outside the Israeli embassy in the national capital earlier this year.

    “We don’t know yet the identity of the perpetrators. It is an ongoing investigation. I hope we will get to them as soon as possible,” he said.

    The envoy said Israel’s cooperation with India in areas of agriculture, water and irrigation sharing is on an upswing.

    External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar paid a visit to Israel this month during which he held talks with Israel’s top leadership to further expand the strategic ties between the two countries.

  • Pegasus row: SC appoints probe panel, says state can’t get ‘free pass’ every time national security is raised

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Wednesday appointed a 3-member panel of cyber experts to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for surveillance of certain people in India, saying that the state cannot get a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised and it cannot be the “bugbear” that the judiciary shies away from.

    In one of the significant verdicts in recent times over the issue of citizens’ right to privacy, a bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana said that mere invocation of national security by the state cannot render the judiciary a “mute spectator” and asserted that indiscriminate spying on individuals in a democratic country cannot be allowed.

    The bench appointed the panel, to be monitored by former apex court judge R V Raveendran, in response to the pleas seeking an investigation into the alleged widespread and targeted surveillance of politicians, journalists and activists, among others using the Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

    “Members of a civilized democratic society have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Privacy is not the singular concern of journalists or social activists. Every citizen of India ought to be protected against violations of privacy. It is this expectation which enables us to exercise our choices, liberties, and freedom,” the apex court order said.

    Writing the 46-page order for the bench, the CJI though acknowledged the issue of national security, the power of the authorities and limited scope of judicial review in such matters and said, however, this does not mean that the state gets a “free pass” every time the spectre of national security is raised.

    The bench referred to the allegations that the Centre or state governments are party to the rights’ deprivation of the citizens while declining the vehement submission of the central government to permit it to appoint an expert panel on its own, saying such a course would violate settled judicial principle against bias as “justice must not only be done but also be seen to be done”.

    “National security cannot be the bugbear that the judiciary shies away from, by virtue of its mere mentioning. Although this Court should be circumspect in encroaching the domain of national security, no omnibus prohibition can be called for against judicial review,” said the bench, which also comprised Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli.

    ALSO READ | Can’t be a mute spectator, charges need to be examined’: SC forms commitee to probe Pegasus

    The government must necessarily plead and prove the facts that indicate that the information sought must be kept secret as their divulgence would affect national security concerns, it said.

    “They must justify the stand that they take before a Court. The mere invocation of national security by the State does not render the Court a mute spectator,” it said.

    “In a democratic country governed by the rule of law, indiscriminate spying on individuals cannot be allowed except with sufficient statutory safeguards, by following the procedure established by law under the Constitution,” it said.

    The top court referred to the freedom of the press and speech and said that the media is an “important pillar” of democracy and the task of the judiciary in the present matter assumes great significance with regard to the importance of protection of journalistic sources and the “potential chilling effect” that snooping techniques may have.

    “Such a scenario might result in self-censorship. This is of particular concern when it relates to the freedom of the press, which is an important pillar of democracy. Such chilling effect on the freedom of speech is an assault on the vital public watchdog role of the press, which may undermine the ability of the press to provide accurate and reliable information,” it said, adding that it was “compelled to take up the cause to determine the truth and get to the bottom of the allegations made herein”.

    The bench listed out “compelling circumstances” which weighed with it while ordering the probe.

    “The entire citizenry is affected by such allegations due to the potential chilling effect,” it said, adding that no clear stand was taken by the Centre regarding actions taken by it.

    The top court urged its Justice Raveendran to oversee the functioning of the expert panel and sought a report expeditiously from the committee which has been given wide powers to “enquire, investigate and determine” whether Pegasus spyware was used in snooping citizens.

    It posted the batch of pleas in the matter, including the ones filed by the Editors Guild of India and veteran journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar, for hearing after eight weeks.

    The bench said it gave ample opportunity to the Centre to clarify its stand on the allegations raised and the various actions taken by it over the past two years since the first disclosed alleged Pegasus spyware attack.

    Despite repeated assurances and opportunities given, ultimately the Union of India has placed on record what they call a “limited affidavit”, which does not shed any light on their stand or provide any clarity as to the facts of the matter at hand, the bench said.

    “If the Union of India had made their stand clear it would have been a different situation, and the burden on us would have been different,” the bench said.

    Such a course of action taken by the Centre, especially in proceedings which touches upon the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country, cannot be accepted, it said.

    “The Union of India must necessarily plead and prove the facts which indicate that the information sought must be kept secret as their divulgence would affect national security concerns. They must justify the stand that they take before a court. The mere invocation of national security by the State does not render the court a mute spectator,” the bench said.

    The apex court said the petitioners have placed on record certain material that prima facie merits consideration by this court and there has been no specific denial of any of the facts by the Centre.

    “There has only been an omnibus and vague denial in the ‘limited affidavit’ filed by the Union of India, which cannot be sufficient.

    In such circumstances, we have no option but to accept the prima facie case made out by the petitioners to examine the allegations made,” the bench said.

    The apex court said the Centre has already been given multiple opportunities and looking at its conduct of not placing on record any facts on the ground of “national security”, no useful purpose would be served by directing the Cabinet Secretary to put certain facts on an affidavit apart from causing a further delay in proceedings.

    “Instead, we are inclined to pass an order appointing an Expert Committee whose functioning will be overseen by a retired Judge of the Supreme Court.

    “Such a course of action has been adopted by this Court in various other circumstances when the Court found it fit in the facts and circumstances of the case to probe truth or falsity of certain allegations, taking into account the public importance and the alleged scope and nature of the large scale violation of the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country,” the bench said.

    The top court said that in this world of conflicts it was an extremely uphill task to find and select experts who are free from prejudices, are independent and competent, rather than relying upon any government agencies or any private entity.

    “We make it clear that our effort is to uphold Constitutional aspirations and rule of law, without allowing ourselves to be consumed in political rhetoric,” the bench said, adding that this court has always been conscious of not entering political thicket.

    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.

  • Supreme Court to hear on Monday pleas seeking independent probe into Pegasus snooping row

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a batch of pleas seeking an independent probe into the alleged snooping on certain people in India involving Israeli spyware Pegasus.

    A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana had on September 7 had granted more time to the Centre to decide on filing a further response on the petitions after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that due to some difficulties he could not meet the officials concerned to take a decision on the filing of the second affidavit.

    The Centre had earlier filed a limited affidavit in the apex court saying the pleas seeking an independent probe into the Pegasus snooping allegations are based on “conjectures and surmises or on other unsubstantiated media reports or incomplete or uncorroborated material”.

    On August 17, the top court had issued notice to the Centre on the pleas, making it clear that it did not want the government to disclose anything which compromises national security. In its short affidavit filed in the court earlier, the Centre had said the position on the issue has already been clarified in Parliament by Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

    It had said that with a view of dispelling any wrong narrative spread by certain vested interests and examining the issues raised, the government will constitute a committee of experts,.

    The top court, while issuing notice on the pleas, had said that it did not want the government to disclose anything related to the national security and had asked the Centre what is the “problem” if the competent authority files an affidavit before it on the issue.

    “Our considered response is what we have respectfully stated in our last affidavit. Kindly examine the issue from our point of view as our affidavit is sufficient,” the law officer had told the bench, adding, “The Government of India is before the highest court of the country.”

    The law officer had said if the government of any country divulges information about which software is used and which is not used, then those involved in terrorist activities may take preemptive measures. The pleas are related to reports of alleged snooping by government agencies on eminent citizens, politicians and scribes by using Israeli firm NSO’s spyware Pegasus.

    An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.

  • SC registry officials, lawyers of key clients, old number of judge were on Pegasus radar: Report

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Phone numbers of two officers of the Supreme Court’s registry, lawyers of fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and AgustaWestland case alleged middleman Christian Michel as well as an old number of a now-retired apex court judge were on the list of potential targets of Israeli spyware Pegasus, according to the latest names released by The Wire.

    A Rajasthan mobile number formerly registered in the name of Justice Arun Mishra, who retired from the Supreme Court in September 2020 and is now chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, was added to the database of potential targets in 2019, it said.

    Also, sometime in the spring of 2019, the telephone numbers of two officers from the Supreme Court’s registry were entered onto the “secret list” that contained hundreds of numbers, including some which show clear evidence of being targeted with Pegasus spyware, the news portal said.

    The two officers worked in the crucial ‘writ’ section of the apex court’s registry when their numbers were added to the database, the report said.

    An international media consortium, including The Wire, has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.

    Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, union ministers Prahlad Singh Patel and Ashwini Vaishnaw, businessman Anil Ambani, a former CBI chief, and at least 40 journalists were on the list on the leaked database of the NSO.

    It is, however, not established that all the phones were hacked.

    The Congress and several other Opposition parties are demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the allegations and also asking the government to come clean whether Pegasus spyware was used or not.

    The government has been denying all Opposition allegations in the matter.

    When contacted by The Wire, the two officials from the Supreme Court registry, one of whom has since retired from the court, wondered why any official agency would view them or their section as a possible candidate for surveillance.

    In the absence of a forensic examination of the smartphones of the two officers, it is impossible to establish if they remained mere persons of interest or were actually subjected to intrusive surveillance, it said.

    The Wire, in its report, also said that earlier that year, two junior court employees were dismissed from service by then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi “for tampering with an order” in a contempt of court case against Anil Ambani of the Reliance ADAG group, “but there is no reason to believe” that the selection of of the two registry officials which came several weeks later, was linked to that case.

    Ambani was also a potential target of Pegasus, according to the list of names reported earlier.

    The Wire also asked retired judge Mishra if he had continued to use WhatsApp or other messaging apps on his phone even after giving up the number.

    “The number is not with me since 2013-2014. I don’t use this number,” he said. Justice Mishra also clarified that he had “surrendered the number on April 21, 2014”.

    Among the dozen or so lawyers across the country who appear on the database – some of whom are involved in human rights-related cases – are at least two who were representing high profile clients at the time their numbers appear in the list of surveillance probables, The Wire said.

    Nirav Modi’s counsel, Vijay Agarwal, was added to the database in early 2018, after he signed on his controversial client, as was a number used by his wife, the report said, adding that neither of their phones were available for forensic examination.

    Another Delhi-based lawyer, Aljo P Joseph, added to the list in 2019, represents Michel, the alleged ‘middleman’ extradited to India in December 2018 in connection with the Agusta Westland helicopter deal case.

    The forensic examination of Joseph’s iPhone data is currently underway but Amnesty’s tech team says that preliminary indications show a Pegasus-related iMessage lookup as part of the process of targeting, The Wire said.

    It also reported that one of the numbers on the leaked database belongs to M Thangathurai, a junior lawyer working in the chambers of former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi.

    The number was added in 2019, two years after Rohatgi demitted office as AG, it said.

    NSO Group, which sells Pegasus to select governments, says the company and its clients are not connected to the database in any way.

  • Senior scribe moves SC, seeks direction to Centre to disclose information on use of Pegasus spyware

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: A senior journalist, whose name featured in the reported list of those who were targets of snooping using Pegasus, has moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Centre to disclose materials with respect to investigation and authorisation pertaining to alleged use of Israeli spyware on his mobile.

    Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who said existence of Pegasus will have a “tremendous chilling effect” on the right to free speech in India, has urged the apex court to declare that use of malware or spyware is illegal and unconstitutional.

    He has also sought a direction to the Centre to take suitable steps to protect Indian citizens from the use of cyber-weapons or malware such as Pegasus.

    ALSO READ | Pegasus row: SC to hear plea of senior journalists N Ram, Sashi Kumar this week

    A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana is scheduled to hear on August 5 three separate pleas, including the one filed by senior journalists N Ram and Sashi Kumar who have sought an independent probe by a sitting or a retired judge into the alleged Pegasus snooping matter.

    An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on a list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

    In his plea, Thakurta has sought the apex court direction to the Centre to put in place a judicial oversight mechanism to deal with any complaints on illegal breaches of privacy and hacking and punish the officials responsible for such breaches.

    “The present case deals with certain disclosures arising out of the use of the Israeli malware ‘Pegasus’, according to which detailed surveillance activities have been carried out with respect to data stored on the petitioner’s mobile (smart phone), which was infected, infiltrated, and hacked by the said Pegasus malware,” it said.

    It said when the information pertaining to Pegasus having been used to target the devices of several Indian citizens came to be reported in public domain, the authorities did not categorically state whether they had deployed the malware to carry out the activities of hacking and surveillance.

    ALSO READ | Oppn wants discussion on Pegasus issue in Parliament in presence of PM Modi, Amit Shah: TMC

    It alleged the petitioner has strong reasons to believe that he has been subjected to a deeply intrusive surveillance and hacking by the Government of India or some other third party.

    “Consequently, he perceives that his rights to privacy, the access to information and his freedom as a journalist have been violated,” it said.

    It said this breach of fundamental rights of the petitioner poses a grave threat to the freedom of speech and expression and also to the existence of a free press which is the “cornerstone of our democracy”.

    The plea, while raising issue of violation of right to privacy, said those who have hacked his device have obtained access not only to the private and intimate details of his personal life but also gained access to who his confidential sources have been and what information they have provided him.

    “Consequently, the petitioner apprehends some of these sources will suffer adverse consequences as a result of the breach of the petitioner’s fundamental rights and that the existence of the Pegasus software will have a tremendous chilling effect on the right to free speech in India,” it said.

    It said hacking through technologies such as Pegasus, is not merely illegal but an affront to the invaluable fundamental rights of the petitioner.

    The plea said that constant surveillance upon journalists and reporters violates that right under Article 19(1)(a) and impinges upon the freedom that the press needs in order to provide impartial and unbiased coverage.

  • Rajya Sabha adjourned till 12 noon after opposition presses for discussion on Pegasus

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI:  Rajya Sabha proceedings were adjourned on Monday for almost an hour after opposition parties, including Congress and TMC, pressed for a discussion on the use of Israeli-made, military-grade Pegasus spyware, and farmers’ agitation against farm reform laws.

    While Congress MPs sought a discussion on the farm agitation, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Left parties sought a debate on the Pegasus snooping issue.

    No sooner had the House complimented shuttler PV Sindhu for winning a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and listed official papers laid on the table, the opposition MPs were up on their feet raising their demands.

    Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said he is willing to consider a discussion on farmers’ problems provided members do not disturb proceedings and cooperate. But as the Opposition MPs continued to raise the issues, he adjourned the proceedings till 1200 hours.

    Before adjourning the proceedings, Naidu said Ramgopal Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Sanjay Singh (AAP), Mallikarjun Kharge, Pratap Singh Bajwa and KC Venugopal (all Congress), Sukhendu Sekhar Roy (TMC), CPI(M)’s Elamaram Kareem and V Sivadasan and Binoy Viswam of CPI have given notices under rule 267 seeking suspension of business to take up discussion on issues they want to raise.

    “I am ready to discuss. Even Business Advisory Committee has decided to hear about the farmers’ problems and also about other problems, provided if the House is in order,” he said. As MPs stood up to raise their issues, he said, “Members do not cooperate, stand up.”

    “If the House cooperates with me, I can hear people,” he said before adjourning the proceedings till 1200 hours. He also ordered publishing of names of the MPs who held placards.

  • 500 people, groups write to CJI seeking Supreme Court intervention in Pegasus spyware case

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Over 500 individuals and groups have written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana seeking immediate intervention of the Supreme Court in the alleged Pegasus snooping matter. They have also sought a moratorium on the sale, transfer and use of Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus spyware in India.

    They have expressed shock over media reports that the spyware was used for surveillance of women students, academics, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and victims of sexual violence. Besides, the signatories to the letter have requested the top court to adopt a gender-neutral sexual harassment, data protection and privacy policy.

    The letter also referred to the issue of alleged snooping on the apex court official who had raised allegations of sexual harassment against then Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi. “For women, the Pegasus scandal is deeply concerning, for speaking out against the state and men in positions of state power has meant that their lives are wrecked by such surveillance permanently. Human rights defenders have been imprisoned, and victims of sexual harassment have also not been spared such shocking forms of state sponsored cyber-crimes, which are analogous to digital forms of state terror,” the letter said.

    The letter has been signed by various activists including Aruna Roy, Anjali Bhardwaj, Harsh Mander; scholars and eminent lawyers like Vrinda Grover, Jhuma Sen among others. An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on a list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.

  • Pegasus issue ‘most important’ for IT panel; will question govt officials on this: Shashi Tharoor

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: Parliamentary panel on Information Technology will question government officials on allegations relating to suspected phone tapping of politicians, journalists and others using Pegasus spyware, the committee chairman and senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Tuesday asserting that it is the “most important issue” for many members.

    The 32-member Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, for which the listed agenda is ”Citizens’ data security and privacy”, according to a notification issued by Lok Sabha Secretariat.

    The panel, which has the maximum members from the ruling BJP, has summoned officials from the Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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    An international media consortium has reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on a list of potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

    Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, two union ministers — Prahlad Singh Patel and Railways and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, businessman Anil Ambani, a former CBI chief, and at least 40 journalists are on the list on the leaked database of NSO.

    It is, however, not established that all the phones were hacked.

    “The subject of Citizens Data Privacy and Security is an approved agenda item of the committee and it was under this item that we had earlier discussed the Pegasus issue in November-December last year.

    So it’s a continuing issue.

    There would be other questions as well, as this is not necessarily the only issue.

    But, for many of us in the committee this is perhaps the most important issue,” Tharoor told PTI a day before the panel’s meeting.

    Since the beginning of the monsoon session on July 19, both houses have seen repeated disruptions as opposition parties have been demanding a Supreme Court-monitored judicial probe in this matter.

    “Parliament is not functioning because of this issue.

    People are anxious to find out about this and we are definitely likely to have questions for the government officials attending the meeting. We are going to see what the answers are,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the TMC-led government in West Bengal has set up a Commission of Inquiry to probe allegations of snooping on politicians, officials and journalists.

    Leaders from all parties have been maintaining that the entire opposition is united on this matter and they want a discussion on the Pegasus snooping issue in Parliament.