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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted the Center some more time to file its reply on a batch of petitions seeking an independent probe into the alleged Pegasus snooping case and set them for further hearing on September 13.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana had on August 17 issued notice to the Center on the petitions, while making it clear that it did not want the government to disclose anything that could compromise national security.
As the matter came up for hearing before the bench, which also included Justices Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that due to some difficulties, the affidavit sought by the bench, was not filed and was not filed on Thursday or Monday. requested to list the matter.
There is some problem in the affidavit. We had filed one and you asked if we want to file another, some officials were not there… can this matter be put up on Thursday or Monday, said the law officer.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for senior journalist N Ram, said he has no objection to the request.
List it on Monday, the bench said.
The court is hearing 12 petitions, including one filed by the Editors Guild of India, seeking an independent probe into the matter.
They relate to reports of alleged spying by government agencies on eminent citizens, politicians and scholars using spyware Pegasus from the Israeli firm NSO.
An international media association has reported that there were more than 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers on the list of potential targets for surveillance using Pegasus spyware.
Read also: Lokur panel won’t go ahead with Pegasus probe for now, Bengal says SC ‘expects restraint’
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