Supreme Court on Wednesday Justice RV Raveendran Expert Committee Not only to investigate recent allegations of the government using Pegasus to spy, but to uncover traces of the report israeli spyware In 2019, it is being used to hack the social media accounts of private citizens.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana asked a former judge of the apex court and his panel to dig into the steps taken by the government, saying “the Pegasus suit regarding hacking of WhatsApp accounts of Indian citizens in the year 2019″. After the report is published about using. of spyware”.
The court also wants the committee to use its expertise to examine existing surveillance laws and procedures to see how much they value and protect the privacy of citizens.
The court said the committee should submit recommendations to prevent state and non-state sportspersons from invading the fundamental right to privacy of citizens through illegal surveillance.
In fact, the court has asked the Justice Raveendran panel in its 46-page order to suggest a “mechanism” for citizens to raise complaints on “suspicion of illegal monitoring of their equipment”.
Above all, the apex court has sought suggestions from the committee for setting up “a well-equipped independent premier agency to investigate cyber security vulnerabilities”.
The Supreme Court’s seven-point “terms of reference” for the expert committee are far-reaching. It not only appears to tackle the recent trigger for the Pegasus controversy but also dives deeper into the first public indications of the alleged use of military-grade spyware years ago.
The job cut out for the committee in the list of seven is to “investigate, investigate and determine” whether “the Pegasus suite of spyware was used to access data stored on the phones or other devices of citizens of India, to monitor conversations, for intercepting information and/or for any other purpose”. The committee is also required to obtain “details of victims and/or persons affected by such spyware attack”.
Other questions on the committee included whether Pegasus was used by the Center or the state or any of their agencies against its own citizens, and if used, whether it was authorized and under what law or procedure. .
The court has asked the Justice Raveendran panel to suggest ways to enhance and improve the cyber security of the country and its assets.
Observing that there should be no delay in protecting citizens from malicious spyware attacks, the court also asked the committee to suggest an ad-hoc arrangement, which would be taken up by the Supreme Court as an interim measure till the Parliament comes up with a law. can be passed by.
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