New Petition Filed In SC Related To Pegasus Espionage Case

New petition filed in Supreme Court on dispute related to the Pegasus espionage case, pleaded with the top court.

A new petition has been filed in the Supreme Court on the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus.

It has sought to take cognizance of the news published in the New York Times and order an inquiry into the 2017 defense deal with Israel.

The New York Times report claimed that India had bought Pegasus spyware in 2017 as a part of a defense deal with Israel.

The petition, filed by advocate ML Sharma, said that the deal was not approved by the Parliament, hence it needs to be canceled and the money withdrawn.

ML Sharma had filed the original petition in the Supreme Court in this matter. In the fresh plea, he has urged the apex court to issue appropriate directions for the registration of the criminal cases.

Probe into Pegasus spyware purchase deal and alleged misappropriation of public funds in the interest of justice.

To recall, on October 27 last year, the apex court had appointed a three-member committee to probe the alleged use of Pegasus to monitor certain people of the country.

The top court said that in the name of national security, the government cannot get ‘free passes’ every time.

Officials say that the Pegasus case is already with the Supreme Court. The apex court has constituted a committee to probe the matter under the supervision of retired Supreme Court judge RV Raveendran.

The report of this committee is awaited. Officials said the committee also published an advertisement on January 2 asking people who believe their phones to be affected by Pegasus to give their numbers.

On the other hand, Congress, in the budget session, announced the government’s siege on this, alleging that the Modi government has not only abducted democracy by spying from Pegasus but has also betrayed the country.

Accusing the government of misleading Parliament to the judiciary, the party also urged the Supreme Court to initiate the process of criminal action against the government taking suo moto cognizance of it.