Allegations that Indian citizens were surveilled with Pegasus spyware are “serious" if news reports about them are correct, the Supreme Court said on Thursday while hearing a batch of petitions demanding a court-monitored investigation that would identify those responsible.

       “No doubt the allegations are serious in nature if the reports are correct. Except for the petition by the Editors Guild of India, most other petitions are based only on media reports. There have to be some verifiable reports before we entertain it," said a bench headed by Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justice Surya Kant.

       MORE FROM THIS SECTION See All

       Premium Premium Beirut port explosion fuels Lebanon’s collapse: ‘May go ....

       Premium Premium Taliban seize key target Kunduz, other cities in northe ....

       Premium Premium India, China pull out of Gogra

       Premium Premium Indian Railways drops project to provide internet in tr ....

       The SC also asked the petitioners to serve copies of their pleas to the government to ensure that a law officer is present in the court on the next date of hearing on 10 August.

       “Please serve copies of the petitions on the Union government. The matter has gotten complicated with too many petitions. Some have also challenged the vires of the IT law. Let someone appear on behalf of the Centre and then we will see," the apex court said.

       The SC asked the petitioners why they had moved court after a gap of more than two years since the first allegations about the Pegasus spyware surfaced in May 2019. This was in reference to WhatsApp’s allegations that the NSO Group’s spyware was used to send malware to more than 1,400 phones.

       The bench also asked whether the petitioners had lodged a first information report or a criminal complaint against the alleged illegal interception of phones, or whether they had empirical evidence to corroborate the claims made in the news reports.

       The petitioners include advocate M.L. Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas, the Editors Guild of India (EGI), journalists N. Ram, Sashi Kumar, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Rupesh Kumar Singh, Ipshita Shatakshi, S.N.M. Abdi and Prem Shankar Jha, and civil rights activists Narendra Mishra and Jagdeep S. Chhokar.

       On 18 July, an international investigative consortium reported that ministers, politicians, activists, business leaders and journalists were among 50,000 people who were potential targets of snooping. According to this consortium, Pegasus can switch on a target’s phone camera and microphone, as well as access data.

       TRENDING STORIES See All

       Premium Gold prices crash today, plunge to 4-month low, silver ....

       Premium CarTrade vs Nuvoco Vistas IPOs: GMPs, other details you ....

       Premium CarTrade IPO opens today: GMP, price, other details. Sh ....

       Premium SBI account holders need to do this by September-end to ....

       NSO said its software is sold only to government customers after vetting by Israeli authorities. The Centre has neither confirmed nor denied the use of Pegasus and has repeatedly ruled out illegal surveillance of Indians.

       “These reports came to light in May 2019. I don’t know why there is an urgency now. I don’t know why there was no serious concern about this issue. Why has this issue suddenly cropped up after two years? Still, we are not saying anything against it. The petitioners are resourceful persons, reputed journalists. They should have done something more," CJI Ramana told senior counsel Kapil Sibal appearing on behalf of N. Ram and Sashi Kumar.

       When Sibal submitted that the extent of interception was not known earlier and that there were several details regarding the spyware that came to light recently, CJI Ramana said: “Some people claim their phones were intercepted. You know there are provisions to file criminal complaints. We don’t find anything in these petitions that they approached anybody for filing criminal complaints."

       To convince the apex court bench to admit the petitions, Sibal cited the findings of a California court in a suit filed by WhatsApp against the NSO Group, where the judge held that the surveillance using Pegasus was done at the behest of the US government.

       Subscribe to Mint Newsletters

       * Enter a valid email

       * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

       Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!