A plea has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking a court-monitored SIT probe into the Pegasus snooping scandal. The plea filed by advocate M.L. Sharma has claimed that the snooping scandal is an attack on the Indian democracy.
The plea said: “Pegasus scandal is a matter of grave concern and an attack on the Indian democracy, country’s security and judiciary. The widespread use of surveillance is morally disfiguring. National security implications of this software are huge”.
Insisting for a court-monitored probe, the plea contended that the scandal involves issues concerning national security and judicial independence.
The plea argued that it is a question that whether buying of Pegasus software by central government violates Articles 266(3), 267(2) and 283(2) of the Indian Constitution. The plea further contended that whether it attracts the rigours of sections 408, 409 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code.
Sharma’s PIL lists the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi and the CBI as the respondents. The plea questioned whether Constitution allows Prime Minister and his ministers to snoop citizens of India for their vested political interest?
Earlier, Sharma had PILS in several sensational matters such as Rafale deal, Article 370, Hyderabad police encounter.
Pegasus software made by the Israeli firm NSO Group, can infect smartphones without users’ knowledge and access virtually all their data.
According to a news report, the woman staffer who made sexual harassment allegations against the former Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and some of her family members were on the list, as the potential targets of Pegasus snooping.
Judiciary must remain free from political pressures, can’t have dual system: SC
The Supreme Court on Thursday said India can’t have a dual judicial system — one for the rich and the other for the poor, and pulled up Madhya Pradesh Police for attempting to shield Govind Singh, the husband of a Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA, accused of murdering Congress leader Devendra Chourasia.
A bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said the judiciary must remain free from political pressures and influences.
The top court cancelled Singh’s bail noting that there has been an abject failure of the police to complete the investigation into the murder.
The court took a strong objection to the fact that police officials tried to pressurize the trial court judge to shield the accused. The top court pointed out that the Madhya Pradesh Police have been complicit in shielding Singh from arrest, and also pulling up state DGP for inaction of the police force.
The deceased Congress leader’s son had submitted that the trial court judge was being pressured by the BSP MLA. The top court noted, “Independence of judiciary is the independence of each and every judge, so that they are independent of their superiors also. Colonial mindset meted out to district judiciary has to change”.
Singh was arrested by the police on May 28, after the top court had given a deadline to the Madhya Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) on April 5.
The top court on March 26, had observed that an effort was made to shield the accused after the DGP had said that despite court order, police were not able to arrest him.