The Supreme Court, while hearing the Pegasus software case, observed that there was no harm in a country using spyware, however, the point to keep in mind is whom the software is used against. It said that allegations of using the spyware against private individuals will be looked at.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh is considering the batch of writ petitions filed in 2021. The petitions sought an independent probe into the alleged surveillance of journalists, activists, politicians with the Pegasus software.
“What is wrong if the country is using spyware? To have spyware, there is nothing wrong. Against whom it is used it is the question. We cannot compromise or sacrifice the security of the nation,” Justice Kant said, according to Live Law. Kant was responding to Senior Advocate Dinesh Dwivedi who argued that the key question was whether the government had the Pegasus software and whether it was using it.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said, “Terrorists cannot claim privacy rights.”
“A civil individual who has the right to privacy will be protected under the Constitution,” said Justice Kant.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the petitioner, referred to a US court judgment that held that the spyware firm NSO Group had used Pegasus to hack WhatsApp, and had identified India as one of the affected countries.
Kant said the Supreme Court had diverted a detailed judgment and constituted a committee headed by Justice Raveendran to investigate the allegations. He said while individual apprehensions must be addressed, the expert committee report cannot be made a document for discussions on the streets.
The alleged Pegasus hacking sparked a massive controversy in 2021 following revelations by an international media consortium, which indicated that the Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group, was allegedly used to target over 300 Indian mobile phone numbers. The list of potential targets reportedly included journalists, opposition leaders, government officials, activists, and even Supreme Court judges.
