NEW DELHI: CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas moved the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored investigation in the alleged Pegasus snooping case.
Brittas, in his public interest litigation (PIL), has said that despite the “very serious nature of the allegations,” the Union government has not launched a probe but “made only a hopeful hope that the time-tested processes in our country are well-established to ensure that unauthorised surveillance does not occur.”
The CPI (M) lawmaker said that the government has neither denied nor admitted the snooping by the spyware. He has also said that the allegations lead to two inferences — either snooping was done by the Indian government or by a foreign agency.
Brittas expressed concern that the list of those who were potential targets in India includes opposition politicians, journalists, a former Election Commissioner, and the staffer of the former SC judge accused of sexual harassment.
“As the interceptions are said to be done in the gadgets of judges and Supreme Court staffer, there is a strong interference with the administration of justice. This is unprecedented and shocking to the conscience of the judicial system. The aspect of interception in the phones of former EC member shows that fundamentals of democracy and free and fair elections are also shaken,” he said.
The MP from Kerala claimed that if Pegasus spyware was used in an unauthorised manner, that is in violation of fundamental rights under Articles 19(1)(a) and 21 and also as a slap on the face of the right to privacy upheld by the Court in the (2017) Puttaswamy case.