India's Supreme Court, in a politically significant decision, has agreed to hear next week a petition filed by two veteran journalists for an independent probe into the "mass surveillance" by the government of more than 142 potential “targets” using the military-grade Israeli spyware Pegasus, an issue that has rocked many governments around the world. 

The petitioners - N Ram, former editor of The Hindu, and Sashi Kumar, a leading media personality - sought a probe headed by a former or a sitting judge, The HIndu said. The snoop list allegedly includes journalists, lawyers, ministers, opposition politicians, constitutional functionaries and civil society activists. The petition was mentioned by senior advocate Kapil Sibal before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) N.V. Ramana. He said the petition ought to be heard urgently as it concerned issues affecting the fundamental rights and civil liberties of citizens, guaranteed by India's Constitution, and even national security, and the issue was making waves not only in India but also globally. 

The CJI said it will be listed “sometime next week.” The petition highlighted that “such mass surveillance using a military-grade spyware abridges several fundamental rights and appears to represent an attempt to infiltrate, attack and destabilize independent institutions that act as critical pillars of our democratic set-up.” It sought a full disclosure from the government on whether it had authorised the snooping which, the petition said, seemed to be an attempt to muzzle free speech and expression of dissent.

The Modi government had still not given a straight answer to whether the hacking was done with its blessings, the petition said. Parliament has been held up for a week with the Opposition seeking a discussion on Pegasus and other issues. 

“Respondents [Ministries of Home, Information Technology and Communications] have not categorically ruled out obtaining Pegasus licenses to conduct surveillance in their response, and have taken no steps to ensure a credible and independent investigation into these extremely serious allegations,” the petition said. “Surveillance/interception is justified only in cases of public emergency or in the interests of public safety… the hack/interception/decryption occasioned by the Pegasus spyware constitutes a criminal offense,” it said,

Amid continuous uproar by opposition members in parliament for a week, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said Friday that the Pegasus controversy was a "non-issue" and a "non-serious issue" and that the government was ready for discussions on "people-related issues", implying that the government may not be prepared to have a discussion on this subject. 

While describing the opposition's behavior as "unfortunate", he said IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had already given a detailed statement on the issue in both the Houses. Vaishnav, choosing his words carefully, had called the charges "false and baseless" and asserted that “any sort of illegal surveillance” by unauthorised persons is not possible in India.

More than 300 verified mobile phone numbers, including of two serving ministers, over 40 journalists, three opposition leaders and one sitting judge besides scores of business persons and activists in India could have been targeted for hacking through the Israeli spyware sold only to government agencies, an international media consortium reported on July 25. (SAM)