Scribes move SC for Pegasus row probe

Senior journalists N. Ram and Sasi Kumar founder of India’s first regional satellite TV channel Asianet have moved the Supreme Court for a probe by a sitting or former judge of the top court into the widespread spying of politicians, top court judges, journalists, public figures and even the government ministers using Israeli Pegasus spyware.

The petition by Ram and Kumar says that the global investigation involving several leading publications around the world has revealed that more than 142 persons in India were identified as potential targets for surveillance using Israeli firm NSO’s Pegasus spyware.

According to them, the forensic analysis of several mobile phones belonging to people listed as potential targets by the Security Lab of Amnesty International has confirmed security breaches. The plea claimed that the attack prima facie constitutes an act of cyber-terrorism that has several grave political and security ramifications,

SENIOR JOURNALISTS N. Ram and Sasi Kumar founder of India’s first regional satellite TV channel Asianet have moved the Supreme Court for a probe by a sitting or former judge of the top court into the widespread spying of politicians, top court judges, journalists, public figures and even the government ministers using Israeli Pegasus spyware.

especially considering that the devices of government ministers, senior political figures and constitutional functionaries which may contain sensitive information have been targeted.

The controversy over the alleged snooping of smartphones is raging in India and the opposition has stalled the monsoon session of parliament that began on July 19, after a news portal started revealing names of those whose mobiles were hacked using spyware.

The Supreme Court is, yet to take on board the first PIL filed last week by Delhibased lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma and by many others since then.