SC appoints a committee to examine the use of Pegasus Spyware in India
Supreme Court has appointed a committee of technical experts overseen by Justice R. V. Raveendran, to examine the use of Pegasus Spyware on Indian Citizens.
Supreme Court
As the farmers’ protests saw widespread internet shutdowns, IFF wrote to the Haryana Home Ministry urging restraint
Between September 7 and 9, 2021, internet services were suspended in four districts of Haryana due to ongoing farmers’ protests. The order is not available on the Government websites and does not lay out a factual justification. We wrote to the Haryana government to officially publish all orders.
MEITY filed a limited affidavit in Supreme Court without confirming or denying if the Government used Pegasus
The Government has filed a limited affidavit before the SC which proposes to constitute a Committee of Experts but does not categorically comment on whether the government used the Pegasus Spyware. The SC has heard submissions on the limited affidavit and has listed the case for 17.08.2021.
Pegasus: Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shatakshi and other journalists approach SC
Rupesh Kumar Singh and Ipsa Shatakshi, activists reporting on issues related to Adivasi people in Jharkhand, approached the SC asking to declare that the use of a spyware such as Pegasus is unconstitutional. IFF has provided legal assistance.
SC directs States, UTs and High Courts to reply to PUCL’s Application
PUCL’s application seeks direction to ensure that authorities do not continue to prosecute individuals under S.66A of the IT Act, 2000. Supreme Court heard PUCL’s application and sought responses from all State’s, UT’s and High Court’s.